You're the Salvation
by leafs nation
Summary: Lilly, Jane and Clem have been through hell and back to get to where they are now, and are practically living on a slice of paradise with Houston Hills. But they'll soon come to remember that good things don't ever last in the apocalypse, and trouble's always one step away from them. Can they continue to survive without sacrificing their humanity? Awesome cover by Oreo Anarchy!
1. Back in the saddle

Texas is warm – like, _really _warm, especially considering that we're most likely at the beginning of summer at this point. It's as if the sun is purposely trying to scorch us out here; laughing as we fruitlessly try to keep cool out in these harsh conditions. The porch that I'm sitting on has a roof that provides a little bit of comfort from the boiling heat, but only by a tiny amount. Still though, as always, I try and make the best of things.

I don't need a patio chair like the ones that rest unoccupied beside me, since I've basically brought my own. Being in a wheelchair is tough, especially when you're living out in a world of the dead, but I've made do for the past four months that we've been at Houston Hills. Once you accept the fact that you can no longer walk properly, and you get used to moving around in this thing, then it's not too crappy of a life out here – especially considering all the BS that we had to go through in order to take over this place.

Sometimes I still think about that, about the people we met along the way… Molly, Etrius, Dominic, Mikael, hell I even think about Sandro from time to time; wondering how a person could've possibly turned that evil in that amount of time.

They might be all gone now from my life, with some good and some bad. But each experience has made me stronger in a way – I'm much more well-rounded than I ever was before all of this stuff happened. I could probably write a book about all of the stuff that we've been through, but I doubt that many people are left alive to even read it. Besides, who would ever believe that we took down an entire house-full of armed guards, travelled through a flooded New Orleans on a makeshift raft, broke out of a prison, escaped a massive herd of walkers from a hardware store, all the while trying not to rip each other's heads off along the way?

If there was ever an inspirational story of overcoming the odds, then this has got to be it.

A walker makes his way down the long dirt road that leads up to the house; seemingly very out of place as he's the only one you can see in any direction. With how few of these things that we get around Houston Hills, you'd think that my mind was just playing tricks on me or something – a walker? Around here? That can't be right!

But it is – jaws snapping and groaning hungrily as his deceased form wanders over to me. His eyes are glazed, pale and empty of any life whatsoever, and if you look closely you can see that he was bit right on the neck. His stomach is cut open as well, as you can clearly see his intestines dangling carelessly out of his system. A part of his skull is cracked open as black ooze pours all over him, but somehow he's walking towards the house. It still amazes me sometimes how the dead are able to walk around – it's like something that you'd hear about in a teenage boy's sci-fi book, never in real life.

Yet here it is… kind of makes all other bad stuff seem irrelevant in a way, doesn't it?

Hearing the screen door open, I don't need to turn my head to know who it is that's joining me out here. Lilly Caul: one of the crankiest, bravest, angriest, most loyal people I know, and all that I had to do to see the better sides of her was to give her a chance. I did, and she did not disappoint… for the most part.

Nobody's perfect, and Lilly definitely helped me to see that.

Narrowing her gaze as she shields her eyes from the sun with her hand, Lilly grunts in annoyance as she too notices our guest coming up the stone driveway. Leaning against the railing, Lilly wastes no time in taking the rifle off of her back, holding it out in front of her, taking aim and… stopping.

Confused (and slightly concerned that she hasn't killed the thing already), I move the chair closer to her as I catch Lilly's gaze landing upon me. With complete silence, Lilly holds the weapon out towards me, as I stare at the gun as if it's a foreign object.

Wearily, I eye the hunting rifle and graze my hand over its cold texture, silently asking Lilly if this is such a good idea. She nods once, indicating that she has full confidence and trust in me to get the job done and to do what is necessary. It's this level of trust that makes our group more tightly-knit together than most.

I take the weapon out of her grasp while trying to get used to the weight of the thing. A hunting rifle's certainly a lot heavier than my pistol, which probably would've been my go-to choice for taking this guy down. But I suppose it's better for me to learn this now, as I turn the chair facing forwards and cradle the back end of the gun against the side of my chin.

Taking a deep breath, I close one eye, aim the barrel a little lower due to the kick, and fire it right into the walker's brain; causing me to snap back in the chair and the walker's head to explode in a shower of blood and guts. It collapses with a _thump _onto the driveway, as Lilly takes the gun back and nods in acceptance. I've done my job, nothing more, nothing less. Any potential dangers to this place or to the group have to be eliminated, without any hesitation.

It's how we've survived for this long, as I watch Lilly start to drag the dead body away for decomposing.

Seeing that the problem has been taken care of, I give a satisfied nod and roll back into the house. Jane's probably taking a nap or something right now, so I'll try not to disturb her. Instead, I roll into the living room and pull out the stash of comic books that I had found while scouting the place a little while ago. Neither of them suspected that they'd be stashed away in between the couch cushions, not that I think they'd really care anyways.

Duck had unknowingly gotten me hooked on Batman, and I hadn't been able to read one until now.

That little thought makes me smile sadly as I flip through to the last page I had been on. Hmm… the Joker's planning to blow up a bank this time around…

….

"Alright, this house meeting is now in session," Lilly announces, causing me to smirk as Jane rolls her eyes. Lilly in turn shoots her a glare. "We haven't even started yet, and you're already giving me attitude!"

"Would you cut the crap, drama queen?" Jane retorts, leaning her elbow on the counter as she rests her head in her palm. "This isn't an executive board meeting or some shit – lighten up a little bit!"

"Fine, whatever…" Lilly huffs, folding her hands together on the kitchen counter and not willing to start an argument about something this late in the evening. "Let's just get this done. No need to beat around the bush here – our food supply isn't going to last forever, but we all know that we won't find a place like this again. Any suggestions on what to do?"

"What about the city?" I suggest, both pairs of eyes turning towards me. "Maybe we could scavenge some stuff from there – maybe there are some places we haven't looked at yet. Or maybe there are some abandoned camps that we could check out somewhere."

"I like that camp idea more than going into Houston, for obvious reasons," Jane explains, giving me a curt nod. Being "_sisters"_ with her has seemed to actually help her out a lot – I think that talk that we had helped to soothe her a little and make her feel better in some ways. "There's gotta be others like us surviving around out here, right? And that means…"

"No, Jane," I interrupt, seeing where she could possibly be going with this. "We're not stealing anything – we've been through this already. Remember what happened with…"

"Yeah… that Russian fuck proved his point," Jane says, still feeling bitter about the whole thing. I'm not entirely sure why she still holds a grudge, especially since Lilly killed Arvo a while back.

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Lilly tries to collect herself as she drums her fingers along the kitchen counter in deep thought. After Jane and I wait patiently for her to come up with something we can actually use, she has a eureka moment and snaps her fingers.

"The vegetables!" she exclaims, getting weird looks from Jane and I.

"Well, yeah," Jane remarks, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "that's the problem – we don't have enough!"

"No, no. I mean that we need to take care of the waste after we finish using them – keep the seeds that we find and then just replant them out back somewhere."

"You want us to do… farming?" I ask, not really familiar with how to do it. Cutting off branches and putting tobacco leaves into a bag doesn't exactly count as being a farmer. Lilly nods in affirmation.

She goes into her elaborate plan – talking about dumping all of the seeds that we find into a bowl, having one person go outside to plant them every three days or so, and checking over the crop every single day to make sure that it's working.

Jane seems pretty sceptical of the plan.

"Seems like a bit of a chore to me, and besides, how do you know this'll even work? I mean, where are we gonna find the water for this?"

"Well, we can just use some of the water we've got – it won't take that much," Lilly reasons while shrugging her shoulders, not seeing anything wrong with the plan. Jane doesn't like this.

"This isn't like the greenhouses back at Howe's, Lilly!" Jane argues, bringing me back to the first day that we had returned there. "We don't have the soil for this stuff, and taking away our water is just gonna kill us! I'm not giving it up just so that you can try to play farmer out back!"

"Well, Jane," Lilly sighs as she stands up to leave, "if you want to starve yourself, then by all means go ahead. I for one ain't just gonna sit around here and not try just because you're scared. I'll be outside if you need me. Clem, are you coming?"

Looking over at Jane for a brief minute, who seems pretty indifferent about it, I nod to Lilly and tell her that I'll just be a minute or two. There's something I've got to say first.

Watching as Lilly turns on a dime and heads out to the back fields, I watch as Jane slumps in her seat and rubs her face tiredly with both hands.

"This is familiar," I quip, crossing my arms across my chest as I hear her groan in annoyance. "I thought we were past this stuff, Jane."

"Not with shitty reasoning like hers, we're not," she mumbles, glancing over at me. I know that look – she wants me to be on her side again. Damn it…

"Please don't make me choose again," I complain with a sour face. "One of you always get pissed off whenever I do."

"Alright, alright. Just… think about it though. You know the score; you're a smart kid."

"That's what you told me after you left…" I remind her solemnly, and for a brief second I see a twinge of regret appear on Jane's face. She shakes it off immediately afterwards though, probably not wanting to dwell on that too much. So much went wrong back then…

"We need that water, and throwing it away to feed some fucking plants isn't the answer to our problems. Like you said, we should scout out some camps and scavenge again."

_Well, you guys can go out scavenging anyways, _I think to myself with a grimace, my eyes wandering down to my useless legs with sadness. Jane seems to understand what I'm getting at, so she sighs and just ushers me to go out and help Lilly.

I am officially sick of this wheelchair.

….

Thankfully for me, Lilly and Jane decided that it'd be a good idea to install some kind of wooden board out back so that I could use it as a ramp to get down. This has given me access to a lot more of the house that I hadn't been able to before, which makes things around here a _little _less boring at least.

That's the other problem that I had failed to bring up during the meeting – boredom. Honestly, I don't know what it is about this place, but sometimes it just sucks all the fun right out of your system after you've stayed here for long enough periods of time.

Don't get me wrong – I'm glad that there aren't many walkers around to fill up our time, and it's awesome that we've found a place as untouched as this one is.

But would it really kill someone to, I don't know, spice things up a bit around here?

You can hear me coming from a mile away with all the racket that this chair makes as it rolls down the board, so Lilly glances back to me and nods before returning to… whatever it is she's doing. I can't honestly tell from over here.

As I head over to the field where she is, my ears perk up a little bit and I cock my head to the side. I could've sworn that I just heard a noise from somewhere… and it sounded pretty suspicious, like a gargling sound or something. But there aren't any walkers that I can see from around here, and there's nothing really out of the ordinary besides the cellar entrance which we keep locked up tight, so I shrug it off and head towards Lilly.

Must've been nothing.

"Need any help?" I ask, growing slightly worried as Lilly shoots me a suspicious glance.

"Why didn't you say anything when we were inside?" she asks, an accusatory tone in her voice. "You and Jane are always on each other's side – whenever I say something different, suddenly I'm the odd one out. You could've stepped up, Clem. You know this is the best idea we've had in a while – I could see it on your face."

"I'm not on anyone's side!" I exclaim, sick to death of this _us vs. them _mentality going on around here. "Geez, Lilly! I just talked about this with Jane! We've been together for almost a year now – we're in this together! There's no need for all the fighting anymore!"

Giving me a hard glance, Lilly pulls off the tiniest of smiles before shaking her head; leaving me even more confused as to what's going on.

"Two years ago you would never have stood up for yourself like that," she comments, taking a handful of dirt and placing it in a pile beside her. "I guess you're right – I shouldn't try to pressure you like that. All that I'm saying is that I want what's best for the group, and Jane… she's not thinking straight. Going off to raid somebody's camp won't make us any better than the guards at the prison."

Not saying anything, I roll up beside her and try my best to start making my own hole in the ground so that we can start planting as soon as we get the seeds ready to go. This is probably gonna take a lot more work than I had originally thought it would, but it's gotta get done. Making sacrifices and doing the hard thing is what gets you through each day out here.

Giving my legs a sideways glance, Lilly sighs heavily and stops what she's doing as I wipe the dirt off on my jeans.

"You shouldn't have to be in this thing…" she remarks, looking over at me with sadness and regret. "I'm so sorry, Clmentine. I should never have forced you to get into that stupid truck…"

"Lilly, I was the one who didn't put a seatbelt on – "

"It was still my responsibility – I should never have put you in that position," she interrupts, catching me off guard about the whole situation. In my mind, it wasn't anyone's fault but my own, but I suppose that everyone's got their own perspective. "I was just so caught up in killing those assholes… and I brought you down with me. I don't know how or why you were able to forgive me after all of that, but I just want you to know… I promise that I'll never put you in danger like that again. You can count on it."

I give her shoulder a squeeze in support, and she seems a little bit more grateful as she turns back towards her work. Even the often cold-hearted Lilly can have some soft spots from time to time.

"_Phew… _alright, let's get this shit done before Jane over there throws a hissy fit."

"Lilly…"

….

Once we finish digging up enough holes, Lilly decides to call it a day and tells me to head on back inside. When asking if she's coming as well, she just tells me that she needs a little while to be by herself, so I respect her wishes and turn back towards the house. Everyone needs a little "me time" now and again, although Lilly seems to have it in spades.

I struggle to make it up the slope in this wheelchair, but somehow I manage to pull myself up the ramp with a whole lot of effort involved. I'm just about to open the door and head on inside, when I hear it again. Growling, it sounds like – I'm telling you, there's something fishy going on around here!

"Lilly!" I call out; no doubt annoying her as she slowly turns around to see what the problem is. "I think I heard a noise somewhere!"

"So?" she replies simply, shrugging as if there's nothing wrong. "It's probably just the wind, Clem – no need to get all jumpy. That's _my _job!"

"It's definitely not the wind…" I mutter, suddenly seeming unsure of myself as Lilly continues to brush it off. My eyes glance over to the cellar door for a second, but I shake my head and snap myself out of it. Lilly and Jane have been down there dozens of times with no issues before.

"Maybe your mind's just playing tricks on you, Clem. It happens to me sometimes, too," she reasons, causing me to second-guess myself as I reluctantly open the back door. I can't be going crazy yet though! I'm almost certain that something's moving somewhere around the house – maybe it's a ghost!

Hey, if the dead are up and walking around trying to eat your brains for dinner, then a ghost doesn't seem quite so superstitious now, does it?

Once I enter the house and allow Lilly to go about her business, I notice a pretty big surprise – a funny, kind of nice surprise.

"Jane?" I call out, startling the woman as she scrambles to put the book away and hide it. "What are you doing in here?"

"Umm… nothing!" she tells me, trying her best to cover up her embarrassment. "Just, uh… looking around to find anything interesting, yeah! Anyways, how's it looking out there? Did Lilly manage to build a barn and find some animals to raise while she was at it?"

"You don't have to be ashamed, you know," I smirk, yanking out the comic book from behind her back as she bites her lip in defeat. "We're all adults here."

"Hmph… reading comic books kind of proves otherwise, don't you think?"

"What's wrong with Batman?" I question, flipping to the page where she left off and widening my eyes in surprise. "How long have you been reading these for now? I only ever got through the first half!"

"About two weeks now…" Jane admits sheepishly, refusing to meet eye contact as she grows more and more humiliated at being caught with this thing. "I'd usually read them after you went to bed, and sometimes I'd bring them out on watch with me."

"Does Lilly know?" I ask, raising an eyebrow as she snatches it away and shoves it back into the couch.

"No, and I'd prefer that it stay that way," Jane snaps, huffing as I laugh at the childishness of it all. Not the fact that she's reading these, but more to do with the way she's acting about it. "This doesn't leave the room, alright? I don't need to give Lilly more ammunition against me."

"You think she'd shoot you over this?!" I exclaim, not understanding the concept as Jane rapidly shakes her head.

"Never mind… just please don't say anything, Clem? It can be our little secret or something."

"Well, we are _sisters_, after all," I smirk, giggling slightly as she leans back on the couch in relief.

Suddenly, the both of us turn to see that Lilly's returned to the house, but she's scratching her head and scrutinizing over some kind of old, slightly ripped up paper that she's holding.

"What's that you've got there?" Jane asks, shuffling over on the couch in case that she sees one of the books sticking out. Oh Jane… what are we gonna do with you?

Lilly doesn't answer, instead going over to the kitchen counter and laying it flat before studying it again. Confused, I look over to Jane as the both of us move over to see what all the fuss is about. It's just a piece of paper, so what's the problem?

"Got it from the cellar," she explains shortly, shaking her head as I'm about to ask my question. "No, I didn't see or hear anything in there, Clem. I made sure of it, trust me. But this paper fell onto the floor while I was rooting around."

"What do you think it is?" I ask with curiosity, glancing at the various lines and diagrams that cover the surface of it. Whatever this thing is, it must've been really detailed before sitting there collecting dust for so long.

"Looks like a map to me," Jane comments, not seeing what the big deal is with this thing. "You can barely make anything out from it though. What's so special about it?"

"They've got a whole shelf full of books and shit down in that cellar – maybe there's some kind of meaning behind it. Who knows, really?" Lilly shrugs, shaking her head before getting back to the task at hand. "Anyways, that's not the important thing. I just checked the cellar, and at the rate we're going, we'll starve by the time winter rolls around."

"There isn't a winter down here, genius. It's hot almost all year round," Jane snipes, but Lilly doesn't seem to pay her much mind. It's a good thing that I had the no-fighting talk with both of them earlier now, isn't it?

As Lilly goes into her speech about what our next steps should be, I take the map and head over to the couches; managing to plop myself down on the leather seat to try and make heads or tails of the thing.

Maybe there's no real significance to this thing… but something tells me there's more to it than that. What could this possibly be a map of? Buried treasure? A scavenger hunt? A map for freaking Santa Claus to find this house and come deliver presents?

Whatever it is, it's got me more than a little intrigued. Perhaps things won't be quite as boring around here as I had originally thought they would be.

These thoughts and more circle around in my mind, as once again I'm the only one to hear those strange noises coming from outside.

_AN: Howdy, folks! Welcome to the sequel for this! If you're confused about how they got to Houston Hills or why it's Jane, Lilly and Clem travelling together, then go back and read the first part of this thing – it'll make way more sense that way. Anyways, things are going to pick up in the next few chapters, so I hope you guys are enjoying this so far! Please drop a review, they're much appreciated XD_


	2. Short-lived miracle

"Pistol?"

"Check."

"Blankets, bullets and binoculars?"

"Check, check and… check."

"Alright then," Jane nods in satisfaction, "looks like we're all set. Head on out to the front – Lilly's probably out there somewhere."

"I thought we were all gonna go out together?" I ask, not liking the idea of Lilly wandering about outside on her own and in the dark. Keeping watch on the porch is one thing, but heading out into the pitch black of night with nobody with you is incredibly dangerous.

"She's a big girl, Clem. Lilly can take care of herself," Jane mutters sarcastically, clearly unfazed as she motions for me to leave. "Go, I'll be out in a few."

Tossing two of the blankets over my shoulder, I turn down the hall and start to head outside, muttering _bossy pants _as I leave the kitchen area. Jane totally heard me, and I can't help but chuckle as she gives me the finger while still rooting around inside the kitchen. She really needs to learn when and when not to do that kind of thing.

The cool, brisk night air greets me as I roll outside, but that's not the beautiful thing out here tonight. Nope, the magic is coming from the stars – millions of them twinkling up in the sky, just waiting for me to reach up and grab them. If I'd just use my imagination, then I could just pretend that I was flying upwards with towards them – maybe I'd see Lee, my parents and everyone else along the way.

But I haven't used my imagination in a very long time now. I'm constantly focused on the here and now – there's no time for my head to be stuck up in the clouds.

However, despite having to grow up way more quickly than other kids my age, I've still held onto some of my childlike curiosities. Like the map, for example, as I haven't been without it since Lilly had found the thing in the cellar the other day. I want to go exploring that area so badly myself, but with my legs the way they are right now I'd just end up falling flat on my face.

I'm gonna try it again tonight – it has to work this time, it just has to.

"Lilly?" I call out, squinting my eyes to try and see any movement outside. Where could she have possibly gone? I mean, she knows that we were planning on stargazing tonight – it's sort of a tradition that we had picked up after leaving Mississippi.

I don't like this… it's too quiet out here, even for a nice night like this. Lilly would never voluntarily head out on her own, especially after all the talks that she's had with me about that kind of stuff. Grasping the railing, I slide down the ramp that they had installed and listen for any signs of life. Nothing but crickets so far – that and the occasional sound of an owl hooting.

"Lilly? Come on, where are you?" I call out again, looking left and right but getting no results. "If you're trying to get me back for the silly string, then it's not funny! Come out!"

Suddenly, out in the very far distance, I can see some… lights. Headlights for a car, most likely, but why aren't they moving anywhere? It's as if the car's just sitting out there watching us – waiting for a time to strike.

_BAM! BAM!_

Jane immediately rushes outside with widened eyes, sprinting down the ramp towards me in a state of panic.

"You heard them too, I guess?" I remark, my worry growing as she nods nervously. "Lilly's still out there! We need to hurry and find her!"

"Alright, but you need to hang back a little bit, okay? You're my backup in case something goes wrong out there," Jane orders, leaving no room for debate as she gets behind me and pushes the wheelchair forward. I've got my gun trained out in front of me in case anything gets the jump on us. "Do you think it came from over there?"

"Yeah…" I answer quickly, biting my lip as we come within a few yards away from the vehicle. The front door is wide open and you can hear the engine softly running from back here, but we don't see any occupants lying around. The whole scene looks pretty freaky actually.

Jane stops rolling me forward as I try to watch her movements and make sure nothing sneaks up on her.

"Stay here," she repeats, tip-toeing her way forward with extreme caution. The stone crunches underneath her boots as she trudges carefully, and my grip on my pistol instantly becomes more intense. Why would somebody leave a perfectly working car out in the middle of nowhere like this?

My heart's pounding as I watch this all unfold. Jane stalks right up to the car, takes a look around and holds her gun out defensively before poking her head into the driver's side of the car. She switches off the ignition and steps back outside again before turning towards me.

"Clear on this end," Jane shrugs, but nearly falling over in surprise when Lilly seemingly pops out of nowhere; grappling with a walker as she struggles to prevent its teeth from sinking into her neck.

"GET IT OFF!" Lilly yells as Jane expertly hops over the hood of the car, draws her knife from its holster and stabs the beast in the head. Blood spreads all over Lilly's face, but other than getting the wind kind of knocked out of her Lilly's pretty much fine.

I rush over towards the two of them with relief as Lilly pants and struggles to catch her breath.

"What the fuck was that all about?!" Jane demands, noticing that there are two dead bodies instead of one as I had originally thought. "Lilly?!"

"What…?"

"Who were these bastards," Jane questions, knifing the other dead guy in the head to prevent him from turning, "and why were you taking them on out here by yourself? Answer me, god damn it!"

"She's dazed, Jane. Leave her alone!" I interrupt, looking as Lilly's eyes are as wide as saucers. "They must've got the jump on her or something."

"They… tried taking me…" she admits, startling the both of us as we look towards the bodies with disgust. "They were just waiting… near the driveway… So I walked over and… they tried to put me in the trunk. Said something about_ getting back what they were owed _or something like that…"

"Do you think they were more of Sandro's guys?!" I ask fearfully, but neither Jane nor Lilly really have an answer to that.

"Could be," Lilly nods, spitting on their corpses as she stands up. "_Fuck_… I thought for sure that I hit them both in the head…"

"Well, that explains where the gunshots came from," Jane sighs, before glaring daggers at Lilly again. "Why didn't you come get one of us first?! One of the first rules of surviving – never go off by yourself in the dark!"

"I handled it…"

"And what if you hadn't? Huh?" Jane continues to berate, slapping her hand in frustration against the hood of the car. "God damn it, Lilly! Don't go running off just for some lame excuse to get yourself killed! We all know that you've wanted to!"

Instantly shooting a dark glare towards me, I hold up my hands in defense as the storm clouds around their heads grow increasingly bigger.

"Why would you tell Jane that shit, Clementine?! I trusted you!" she accuses as I repeatedly shake my head in a vain attempt to stop her anger.

But Jane luckily comes to the rescue.

"She didn't tell me that, not that she'd really need to!" Jane barks, folding her arms across her chest. "We _need _you here, Lilly! You're not dead, whether you like it or not! So don't be an asshole and just go off killing yourself because I…"

Cutting herself off, Jane seems to be at a loss for words at this point. What is she trying to say right now? And why does she seem so upset about Lilly heading off into the middle of the night – wasn't she the one who told me not to worry about it?

"Jane, I – "

"Save it," Jane spits, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she interrupts Lilly from saying any more. "Do what you want, Lilly. It's not like we're some kind of _group, _or even a fucking _family _at this point anyways. Go get yourself killed if you want… see if I care…"

Walking away without another word, Jane leaves Lilly and I speechless and in the dust; shocked at her sudden outburst back there. This is totally uncharacteristic of Jane – okay, who went into her brain and turned the _caring _switch on? Lilly looks as though she just got run over by a tanker truck, while I sit there and watch the exchange of emotions on her face.

"I didn't mean…" she mutters weakly, looking upon the ground in slight shame. "I just wanted to try and protect the group… Clem, you know that!"

"Yeah, I get it…" I nod slowly, bringing a little bit of comfort to the older woman, but not that much.

"What's eating her, though?" Lilly questions, as both our gazes land upon her form retreating back into the house.

I'm honestly not too sure about her… Jane's a mystery half the time, and is one tough book to crack open. She can be your best friend on one day, and then your worst enemy the next – trust me, you really want to be on her good side. Same goes for Lilly, really.

Maybe that's it! Maybe it's just that Jane sees a whole lot of Lilly in herself, and doesn't want her to make the same mistakes that she did but pushing others aside and leaving like she did so many times before. Maybe Jane's worried about she and I being able to hold onto this place if Lilly isn't around anymore to defend it.

Or maybe I'm just thinking too hard, and that Jane might actually care about Lilly more than she's letting on.

"Let's get inside," I suggest, even though we're just abandoning the vehicle over here without checking the trunk or anything. "It's been a long day – maybe we should get some sleep."

"…yeah, that uh… that sounds good to me…" Lilly mumbles, rubbing her arms for warmth as she shudders while passing by the corpses. How the hell she managed to escape and kill both of them is still beyond me, but it's nice to know that we have somebody as capable as Lilly around.

Which is what makes it scarier knowing that she could be one trauma away from snapping again.

…

The next three days are… awkward… to say the least. Things have gotten pretty tense at Houston Hills, and every time that Jane and Lilly walk into the same room together it's almost as the temperature's dropped forty degrees. Neither of them are talking to each other, save for when it's time for a shift change when watching outside. Jane wouldn't even come out to help search the car with us when Lilly drove it in – preferring to stay in the comfort and quiet of her room on the upper floor as she occasionally peered out the window to look at us.

These dudes couldn't have been out on the road for very long, since there was basically nothing in the trunk except for some electric cables, a flashlight and a tire iron. There was a half-eaten sandwich in the passenger seat, but other than that the men basically came without supplies. Lilly seems to think that that means they've got a camp somewhere nearby, and that we should double our efforts to stay alert – as if we weren't already doing that all the time anyways.

Today isn't for worrying about other camps possibly filled with enemies, however. No, right now I'm going to try figuring out where those noises are coming from – I know and can personally guarantee that I'm not just losing my mind. There's something lurking around the house, and I want to find out what it is before we all end up in big doo-doo.

"Jane, I'm heading out," I call up the stairs, getting no reply as I yell up again. "Jane? Are you listening? Did you hear me?"

"Don't bother, Clem," Lilly remarks, clutching her rifle in her hands for another round of patrolling. "She's been up there all morning and isn't coming down anytime soon. We've got enough on our plate without having to worry about Jane's _feelings_. More of those bastards could be right around the corner for all we know…"

"Are you absolutely sure that somebody's after us?" I question, having given up on getting Jane to come down and actually talk to one of us. I guess she just needs some space for a change.

God knows she needs it.

Lilly glares out the window, as if it could actually scare off any potential intruders into the house. She's dead-set on defending this place, and that night with those two goons has taken its toll on the poor woman. I can see it in her eyes – there's a sense of caution and inwardness that she didn't really have prior to this. It's kind of sad watching the independent Lilly become slightly more vulnerable.

"Positive," she reaffirms, glancing back towards me with a look of warning. "Whatever you're doing, make sure you're around the house, alright? Don't go wandering off anywhere."

"Like you?" I reply smugly, watching as she gives off a small smirk before heading out to the front porch.

The floorboards creak underneath my wheels as I roll down the hallway, silently hoping that Jane changes her mind and decides to come downstairs with me. I don't want her to feel alone… that loneliness and desperation can make even the strongest person crumble and break apart. I wait at the back door for about five seconds before sighing and turning to leave. It seems that not all of your wishes will come true.

I'm greeted by the familiar sight of the fields behind the house, though I had never really noticed how pretty it looks from back here. There's an old clothesline that stretches out, having not been used for years at least, and back in behind that are rows of grassy hills and some desert-like environments. It's kind of weird seeing grass and desert so close together, but at least we might be able to grow some stuff. Lilly seemed pretty optimistic about it.

But the cellar door is my actual destination, as I grasp the rusted handles and use a whole lot of force to get the stupid thing open. Lilly had taken the lock off the other day and had forgotten where she had put it… or so she thought. In reality, I had taken the lock and hidden it away so that I'd be able to get in here, like the sneaky little troublemaker I am.

The part that I haven't really figured out yet is getting down into there – you have to climb a ladder to reach the cellar floor, and obviously I'm in no position to be doing that.

"_Groghhhh…." _

Okay, I know that I wasn't just hearing things there. Something's in the cellar, whether it's the boogeyman or something I don't rightly know. But I need to investigate, since if nobody else will do it then it's up to me. Lilly's worried about goons coming over to the house and killing us in our sleep, but… what if something's already here?

Squinting my eyes to adjust to the darkness inside, I lean forward a little bit too much and shriek as I struggle to retain my balance. The wheelchair rolls forward as I lose control of myself; falling into the cellar and just barely avoiding injury as the wheelchair crashes to the floor loudly. Aside from bruising my side, I'm perfectly fine.

I cough violently and sneeze as the dust fills my nose and mouth, and I try my best to roll over and possibly get some help from one of my companions. Maybe this wasn't such a smart idea after all…

"JANE! LILLY!" I yell out, hope dwindling as my attempts to call to them end in failure. There's no way that they'll be able to hear me from here, so it looks as though I'm on my own for now.

Crawling on my hands and knees, I struggle to make it back to the wheelchair when something catches my eye. The bookshelf… that must've been where Lilly had found this map from earlier. Neglecting the wheelchair for the moment, I slowly move towards the bookshelf without really thinking about what I'm doing or how I'm getting over there. Nothing is on my mind right now other than figuring out this mystery, and as a bonus it sounds as though that's where the noise is coming from.

Brushing my hand along its dust-coated surface, I hold myself against the bookshelf and place my ear up against it. The noises are muffled and a little bit subdued right now, but there's definitely something fishy going on. Not wanting to be left in the dark on this any longer, I try my hardest to move the shelf away from the wall. I'm not very successful because of my small frame, but I've got enough adrenaline and excitement bubbling up right now that it keeps my body energized.

Again, I'm not thinking about what's going on at the moment.

"_Clem?" _I hear a voice call out, and I yell for Jane to come down into the cellar and help me out. After waiting for about ten seconds, I hear her footsteps climbing down the ladder until she reaches the bottom. "Clem, what are you doing down here? Lilly said she heard a noise."

"Come help me move this!" I tell her, struggling as I grit my teeth together. "It's heavier than it looks! But Jane, I think there's something here! It might be behind it or down below, I'm not really sure, but – "

"Holy shit…" Jane interrupts, widening her eyes in surprise and total shock as she places a hand over her mouth.

"What is it?"

"Clementine… You're…" she stutters, making no sense to me as I try guessing what it is exactly that she's babbling on about.

And then it hits me like a lightning bolt.

How else was I able to get here without the wheelchair? They're wobbly and extremely uncoordinated, but… my legs. I can stand – I can freaking walk again! I must've not realized since I was so preoccupied with exploring the cellar, but… this is amazing!

I can't help but laugh brightly in utter relief and joy as Jane stands there with a look of content and genuine happiness. This is an unreal feeling, and although it will surely take quite a bit of time for me to fully get back to getting used to this, it's way better than the alternative.

Lilly soon comes down afterwards, takes one look at me and comes over to pat me warmly on the shoulder. If this is a dream, then I sure as hell don't want it to ever end.

"Nothing short of a god-damned miracle," Lilly remarks, as even Jane can't help but agree with her. "That's so amazing, Clem, you've got no idea. But what the hell are you doing down here? You could've gotten yourself hurt!"

"_Mrrrmph!" _the noises come back again, and all three of us slowly turn towards the bookshelf in hesitation. There's no way that they can deny it now – something's living in here, and there's no way that Jane and Lilly will be able to sleep at night knowing this information.

Nodding towards me, Lilly walks over to one side of the bookshelf in order to get a good grip on it. Reluctantly, Jane does the same on the other side as I try not to fall over.

"As a team, ready?" Lilly asks, not getting a reply from Jane as she simply stares with determination. The grinding of the shelf pierces our eardrums as they slowly move it to the side; leaning it up against the wall before wiping their hands clean of dust on their pants.

What lies underneath is something that's pretty interesting, and makes me think that there could be more to this place than just a nice house and some fields for growing stuff in. A trapdoor – old, rustic and seemingly unopened for a very long time. Deciding that I should be the one to open it since I was the person who heard the noises in the first place, I stumble my way over and lean my arm against the wall; politely refusing Lilly's offer of support. There are some things that I just have to do on my own.

With a heavy breath, I carefully grab the metal handle, pull upwards as hard as I can and open the hatch; falling flat on my back as I yank the thing open. The noises are at full force now, while Jane and Lilly watch in horror as the peer into the murky depths.

"Oh my god…" Jane murmurs, rubbing a hand through her hair as Lilly kicks the bookshelf in utter rage and frustration. I don't even need to look inside to recognize what's down there.

Walkers – hundreds of them are reaching up at us from below. They can't reach us from this height, but it looks as though we've struck a walker gold mine.

The question remains though – what are they doing down there?


	3. Tomorrow is a long time

"Well," Jane remarks, staring down into the abyss with concern, "this is one fine mess we're in."

That's a bit of an understatement, don't you think? Hundreds of hungry and lustful walkers are standing right below our feet, and we're standing here wondering what the heck we can possibly do about it. There's no way that I'll be able to sleep properly tonight knowing what's down here – even with how excited I am with being on the road to recovery.

Without a word, I narrow my gaze, pull out my pistol and aim it down into the hole, but Jane stops me from doing it while shaking her head.

"Don't waste the bullet, Clem. It's not worth it – they can't harm us from up here."

"Like hell they can't!" Lilly argues, firing off three bullets before getting the gun wrestled away from her by Jane. "Quit it! We need to kill all of these fuckers before they latch onto somebody's arm!"

"What are you gonna do, Lilly? Empty the entire god-damn clip into their heads? You might get about a dozen of them or so!" Jane retorts, which makes pretty good sense to me now that I think about it. "We can deal with this; we've done it before, and there's no reason why we can't now."

"Still better than doing nothing! We can't just _ignore _this!" Lilly berates, trying (and failing) to grab the gun back from our third party member. "Fuck sakes, Jane! Give. Me. The. Gun!"

While the two of them bicker like an old married couple, I study the area underneath us from above, careful not to trip and fall inwards to my death by accident. There are rickety, old beams supporting the ceiling above it, but the walls are mostly made up of rocks and dirt. The smell is absolutely overwhelming in here.

Looking at the walkers, there seems to be something similar with what they're all wearing. Black and white striped shirts with grey pants – why do these look so familiar?

"What are they wearing?" I ask, listening as Jane comes to bend down to investigate beside me. "Did the walkers all decide to dress up the same for a special occasion or something?"

"Hmm… they look a little bit like…" Jane cuts herself off, and suddenly I understand where I've seen these before.

Dominic, Mikael, Marcus and all the rest of the prisoners had these on when we were there. The only reason the three of us never wore them was because we just got picked up as survivors, and they probably wouldn't have had enough shirts anyways. But the actual prisoners, the ones that had been there before all of this started… they wore these things.

Which could only mean one thing.

"They sent some of the prisoners down here to kill them?!" I ask in fright and sadness, suddenly feeling a lot more sympathy for these walkers than I had before. Sure, the other prisoners (namely Mikael) may have screwed us over in the end, but they still helped us escape. We're all human, and nobody should be subject to this kind of thing.

"Why the hell would they do something like this…" Jane breathes out, shaking her head in disbelief. "I mean, I knew they were fucked in the head, but not _this _fucked!"

"What should we do?" I question quietly, watching as Jane stands up and places her hands on her hips; spitting down below before placing her hand over the trap door. "Jane? What are you doing?"

"Locking this place," she replies simply, before slamming the door downwards and immediately getting a reaction out of Lilly. "Nobody comes in here – _nobody_. We need to seal this whole cellar off and never come back down here under any circumstances. This is our best shot at a normal life out here, and we don't need to ruin it just because of this. We'll be fine."

"Jane, you can't be fucking serious!"

"_We'll be fine_," she cuts Lilly off, not wanting to hear anything else. "We'll get started on boarding this place up, along with the rest of the house. Hell, we'll fucking barricade ourselves in our rooms if we have to, I don't care! We're not leaving again!"

"You're in so much denial that it hurts just watching you," Lilly shakes her head, stomping on the trap door and getting the walkers more agitated. "Hear that, Jane? Those are fucking walkers, and they were living down here right under our noses for months! And you're telling me that we should just pretend they aren't even fucking here?! _That's _your solution to this?!"

"Yeah, it is," Jane nods in affirmation, climbing back up the ladder and disappearing.

Lilly and I stand here in disbelief – this isn't an answer to our problem, it's just a time delay.

"I can't fucking believe this… You have got to be shitting me right now!" Lilly yells in aggravation, collapsing the bookshelf onto the trap door by getting a good angle on it. "Clem… I think Jane's lost it. We can't just sit on our asses this time; not when we know what's below us. How much longer will it be before they start to pop outside? Hell, they could manage to come through the damn ground for all we know!"

"Jane said to keep it closed. What else can we even do?" I ask, leaning against the wall to balance myself. I still haven't gotten used to being able to stand quite yet.

Breathing heavily through her nose, Lilly shrugs her shoulders while rubbing her eyes tiredly. That's usually the code for _she has no idea_, but Lilly definitely has a point – there's an obvious threat down here, and the smart thing to do would be to either deal with it or move somewhere else.

"Could you please try talking to her?" Lilly asks, placing a firm hand on my shoulder as she helps me get up the ladder safely. "I can't get through to her anymore… not that I really ever could before, but still. You're the only one that she really trusts, Clem."

Funny… nearly a year ago it was Jane telling me those exact same words about Kenny.

"You don't think she'd… put us in danger or anything, do you?"

"…hell, I don't even know anymore," Lilly admits, knowing full well that she and Jane haven't always been on the greatest terms in the past. "But we have to try – if not for her sake, then for ours. Jane's not thinking clearly right now… we need to set her back on the path. She's too important for us to lose."

With that, she leaves me as I stumble my way inside Houston Hills – hope dwindling as I notice that Jane's knife has been tossed carelessly onto the kitchen counter. Jane hardly ever leaves weapons lying around, so that's not exactly a good sign right off the bat.

Before closing the door behind me though, I can see that Lilly's looking up into one of the windows with a look of worry etched onto her face. I've never seen her this concerned about Jane before, and to be honest it's actually kind of sweet. It's nice to see that past grievances have pretty much been tossed aside with those two, and that they've somehow managed to see each other on a whole new level. I might even be bold enough to say that they're even _friends_. Scary stuff, huh?

I wonder what's going through that girl's head though? How could Jane possibly think that sweeping the walkers under the rug is a good idea? The mess is only going to get bigger that way; not cleaned up. Why is she so hesitant to change?

Maybe the sun from Houston Hills has rooted itself into her brain for too long.

Clambering up the stairs for the very first time, I notice the cream-coloured, ugly-looking walls with wallpaper that looks just as bad. The carpet's been worn out after years of use, and there are two doors out in this little hallway of sorts – I imagine that one's Lilly's room and the other is Jane's.

Knocking on the left door, I cringe as Jane almost immediately tells me to go away.

"It's just me," I answer with a sigh, poking my head in as I see that Jane's laying atop her mattress and staring at the ceiling. "You took off pretty quickly out there. Is everything ok?"

When I get no response, I slowly close the door behind me and walk over towards her; sitting on the edge of the bed and placing my hands in my lap. I literally twiddle my thumbs around for a little bit waiting for her to say something, but I stare at my lap and sigh when she continues not to look at me.

"We need to talk," I encourage, looking at her with a slight frown. "Lilly and I talked it over, and we think you're making a mistake."

"That's nice…"

"Jane, come on."

"You want to know the way I see it, Clementine?" Jane says quietly, glancing my way with that determined look that she usually has on her face whenever she's dead-set on something. "We travelled for two months to get here. Two whole months, including the prison stuff we went through. We've got a safe place going here – possibly the safest in the entire country right now. Do you seriously want to go through all of that again just because of some walkers that can't get out of the basement?"

"What's the problem with getting rid of them, then?" I ask, not seeing the harm in trying to kill the walkers from a distance. "It's not as if we don't have enough bullets around!"

"What's the point of doing that? We need to deal with the problems up here – why would we be going down through that trap door anyways? Wasting bullets on walkers that can't hurt us isn't a smart idea, Clem," she explains, though still not convincing me entirely. "Look… I don't want either of you getting hurt trying to do this, okay? Especially when it's unnecessary. We – "

Stopping herself, Jane sits up from the bed and stares intently out the window. Without another word, she grabs her pistol that's sitting upon her dresser drawer (though she really doesn't need it) and sprints out the door down the stairs.

"Jane!" I call out, wondering what could possibly be the matter this time. "Jane, wait!"

I'm a lot slower than her due to my messed up legs, so I slowly make my way out to the hall and grasp onto the stair railing to support my weight. I can hear Jane burst through the front door and yell for someone to drop their weapons, but her voice is muffled after the door is shut behind her. Sounds as though we've got either another family out looking for refuge, or maybe it's one of those guys that tried to kidnap Lilly the other night. Either way, we've got to check them first beforehand.

Knowing that Jane generally prefers to handle these things on her own, I first head to the window and open up a part of the curtains to get a better look at what we're dealing with. There seem to be three of them this time, but something tells me that they're not the friendly sort. They've all got big guns strapped to their backs, and they all look like they mean business. Clearly they don't know who it is exactly that they're dealing with here.

But do we?

"I'm not gonna ask again! Guns down, hands up, pockets out!" Jane demands, aiming her weapon directly at the guy in the middle.

He's a kid by the looks of things, probably a teenager who's a few years older than me. He's got dark brown hair that's tied up in a bun at the back – which is weird in itself. I thought that only girls were supposed to have their hair like that? The boy's wearing a black muscle shirt, even though his arms are super skinny, and he's wearing faded blue jeans. The other two men are big, burly fellows with bald heads; probably a couple of motorcycle gangsters before all of this happened. Now they're just mean-looking guys with big guns.

Mom always told me to not judge a book by its cover, and that just because somebody looks a certain way doesn't mean that they're bad by any stretch of the imagination.

But if she was still here with me, I'm sure that even Mom would agree that these guys look like trouble. She definitely didn't expect me to have to deal with guys with guns.

"This house ain't yours," the boy says cockily, not doing as Jane requested. "You realize that, don't you? This place is our property."

"Doesn't seem like it to me, dumb ass," Jane retorts bitterly, wanting nothing more than to get out of this situation. "Pretty sure that the previous owners are dead – we've taken the place over. Get out, right fucking now."

The boy clenches his fists and whispers something to his companions when Jane mentions that Papa John and Corvo are dead. Maybe these guys were close to them, who knows? But the better question is why anyone would actually _want _to be closer to those scumbags – they picked off travellers and sold them into slavery, for crying out loud!

The men take their guns off of their backs as Jane backs up on instinct, but they haven't actually started shooting yet.

But in a panic, as I rush over to the front door, the gunfire then starts; causing me to freeze on the spot as my fingers grasp the door handle in worry. I swear to god, if Jane's hurt in any way…

"JANE?!" I cry out, scooting outside after the gunfire dies down. She's on her back near the stairs and is pretty much unharmed, but the two big men are dead while the teen is trying his best to run away from the scene as fast as he can. Jane almost immediately gets up and takes off after him; tackling the guy to the ground and pinning him flat.

"You're not going anywhere, asshole," she comments briskly, whistling for me to come help her as Lilly then steps onto the scene. As soon as Jane sees her, she motions towards the two dead bodies with a shocked expression. "Lilly, what the hell?! You slaughtered them!"

"They had their guns on you! I saved your life!" she argues, shooting them both in the head to prevent them from turning. "You could've died if I didn't try something!"

"We don't need another Arvo situation on our hands here, alright?! Jesus!" she sighs in frustration, forcing the kid to put his hands behind his back as he forces him to his feet. Who were you people?"

"Go fuck yourself!"

"If you don't want to end up like these two," Lilly gestures darkly, "then you'd better answer her question right now. I couldn't be more serious – do you honestly think we won't kill you just because you're a kid?"

"Lilly, you're scaring him…" I scold lightly, shaking my head as she looks down upon me. "Could you tell us your name at least?"

The boy glares at me before spitting on the ground; feeling nothing but loathing and hatred for us as he sobs over the friends that he just lost. It was his own damn fault for threatening us like that, but I still can't help but feel a little bit bad for him. He'd probably be a pretty nice kid if it wasn't for all of this mess.

Jane forces him to move around the house with a gun pointed into his back, as I look at Lilly with confusion before following her.

"Jane, what are you doing?" I ask, slightly concerned that she's just going to take him out back and put him down like a wild dog or something.

"We can't let him go – he'll just run on back to his camp and get all of his buddies to come kill us," Jane remarks, shoving the kid forward roughly as he stumbles to the ground. Jane yanks him back upwards by the collar as the boy stands there; broken and not having any will left to fight back. "And we sure as hell can't put him in the house, now can we? So if he won't cooperate, then I know exactly where he can stay."

"Come on, that's enough!" I argue, not wanting to go through this sort of thing again. "He's just scared, Jane! There's no reason to torture the guy too!"

"Tell that to fucking Arvo…" she spits harshly, causing me to go silent as Lilly opens the cellar door. Jane forces the kid to venture down the ladder, with a gun pointed right at his chest for an incentive. Obliging, the boy shudders as he realizes why I said that this would be torturing the guy – the walkers below the trap door think that they're gonna be getting a sandwich or something.

"There might be some scraps of food lying around in there, not that you deserve any," Jane mentions, folding her arms across her chest. "You fuck around in there, and you'll regret it. We might be back in a little while to check up on you… I wouldn't count on it though."

Lilly then slams the cellar door shut before locking it up, making sure that there's no hope of the guy escaping anytime soon. I firmly disagree with the way that they're handling this, but it's two against one.

Besides, what's my opinion going to matter after what just happened a few nights ago with those goons that tried to take Lilly? And now this? Something's not right here, and this definitely isn't a coincidence.

Stubbornly, I head on inside and ignore the sympathetic faces of Lilly and Jane. I too need to be alone for a little while.

_AN: If you're still wondering about the walkers in the cellar, don't worry – I haven't just thrown in that whole underground area where they are for no reason. You'll see the significance of it over the next few chapters. And their teen captive will be further explored as well, so look out for that._

_And it seems as though some of you think that I may be hinting at something with two of the main characters… I suppose we'll have to see where this goes, won't we? ;) Anyway, please drop a review and I'll post the next chapter soon!_


	4. Hell wouldn't let me in

The wind bites at the skin of my bare forearms, but it doesn't really affect me as I wander out to the back field. Lilly's asleep and Jane is on watch, while the prisoner is locked securely away in the cellar near the house. I'm all alone out here, and right now I've never felt so free – free from that stupid wheelchair, and free to finally move around on my own.

I'm like a bird out here, and it feels so nice to have the wind gusting against me.

Taking my hat off for just a brief moment, I close my eyes and smile as the gusts blow through my curly locks of hair and against my face. I don't want to do anything right now other than… just sprint around like a crazy person! For once in my life, I am truly free of the cage that's been surrounding me. With no walkers around the fields, I can rest assured that I won't be disturbed.

"_Haven't you ever wondered what it's like to live your own life?"_

Jane's words have never felt more true than right now, as I kick my shoes off and feel the blades of grass scrunch up beneath my feet. It's almost as if I can feel the earth within me right now, and I've never felt more alive.

Never have I felt so grateful to walk before.

Taking a few steps forward, that sweet, Texan air fills my lungs as I breathe deeply and absorb some of the dark, western sky. What might seem simple and stupid to somebody else is pure magic for me, as I chuckle heartily and take a few more steps forward… and another… and another.

I get up to the point where I'm no longer walking, but jogging in circles all around the field. For once, there's nothing weighing me down – the troubles of the world are at the very back of my mind, and for once I feel as though I can finally be a kid again. Playing in the sand, running around in the park, being silly with my friends… I close my eyes and try to imagine all of that great stuff that I've been missing out on over the past two and a half years. I didn't realize how much I had missed it.

"YAHOOOOO!" I belt out, not caring that Jane can hear me as I continue to run around. I feel like an airplane flying away, or maybe even a spaceship soaring up into the sky.

That was a huge dream of mine growing up – going to space. I wanted to be the one girl from my school to go up to the moon, and maybe bring back some cheese while I was at it… I was convinced that the moon was made up of Swiss cheese at one point.

Unbeknownst to me, Jane did hear the commotion and went to the back to investigate, but she smiles as she watches me out in the field. It isn't until I turn to see her with a slightly happy look that I laugh even harder and continue to use my legs to their full use.

You don't fully appreciate something until it's gone.

…

Sometimes I wonder who exactly we have become – Lilly, Jane and I. We're definitely not the same people that we once were, but has it been for the worse? Have we become just as bad (if not worse) than the monsters that roam the countryside? Walkers don't lie or cheat or steal; all they do is eat. It's not as if they can help it after all – they don't have minds of their own, and walkers aren't people.

Honest, trustworthy people…

Lilly killed two guys right on the front porch, Jane forced the guy to stay in the cellar and hold him like a hostage, and I… I stood there and didn't do a damn thing. I didn't even try to find another way; didn't make a fuss when we stuffed him inside and threw away the key.

Nope, all that I did was complain that the guy might get scared. No shit he's scared, genius! Two of the people he was with were gunned down beside him, and he's lucky that Lilly didn't decide to kill him as well! I'd be freaking out at this point.

That's why I'm giving him a plate of some fresh vegetables – I'm gonna head out to the back and try to make a sort of peace offering. It likely won't work on the first try, and it'll probably be a work in progress, but I reckon that it'd be better to start early.

Neither Lilly nor Jane argue with me about what I'm doing (not that they would since they're so preoccupied), so I slowly make my way out to the cellar. I'm still getting used to walking again, so the trip's a little more treacherous than I would like.

But just like this peace offering, it'll come slowly.

"I thought you might be hungry…" I remark quietly, setting a tray down in front of the man as he continues to hug his knees to his chest in the corner. His face is buried against his knees, and you can tell that he's been pretty upset over the last day or so.

Inching the tray closer to him, I awkwardly rub my arm as he continues not to say anything.

"You might as well eat up," I suggest, knowing fully well that he doesn't want to. "Hey, at least it's me in here and not Jane or Lilly. They'd probably just forget about you… on purpose, probably."

When his face slowly rises to match my gaze, I can finally see how much turmoil the kid's actually under right now. Deep, dark circles hang below his eyes, dirt mats his cheeks and his hair is all dusty and wild-looking, even though it's pretty short. His lips are permanently etched into a frown, and underneath all of that expression I can tell that there's rage – anger that's completely consuming him. This reminds me so much of Kenny that it's not even funny.

"…can you at least tell me your name?" I ask, watching as he reluctantly picks at his food and munches on a celery stick; begrudgingly so. "You might be here a while, so we might as well get to know each other, right?"

"Why would they send a little pipsqueak like you down here?" he interrupts, completely ignoring my question as he snaps the celery stick in half. "Do they really think that I'm _that _weak? Am I not worth their fucking time to check up on?! It's all the same to you people… take what you want, trample everybody that gets in your way. You all just think that I'm a waste of space…"

"You're still here," I point out, not giving him the satisfaction of caving in. "You and your friends were going to attack us – don't act like we're the bad guys here."

"So that's why you've got me caged up like an animal in here then, huh?" he continues, tossing the tray loudly to the side and clenching his fists. "Grow the fuck up, you ignorant little shit! This isn't some motherfucking fairy tale that you're living in – you people aren't the _good guys_! You and your people are evil, and you'll burn in hell for what you've done!"

"Yelling at me won't change anything," I tell him calmly, not swayed by his "too cool to care" attitude that he's running here. This only seems to make him even angrier, however, as he stands up to his full height and glowers at me darkly.

"You butchered the people here like cows to the slaughter, sneak your way inside and then kill my friends," he lists off on his fingers, moving his way closer towards me. "Yelling's about the only thing that I've got left, you little piece of dog shit! So don't you DARE try and make me calm down! I could snap you like a twig with my bare hands!"

He keeps moving forward, so I on instinct move back until I hit the cement wall behind me. This guy seems to think that he's intimidating me, and he seems to enjoy the fact that he has power over somebody else for once in his life, so I let him keep up the little charade he's got going on right now.

That is, until I poke my pistol right up against his chest.

Glaring up at the guy, his face visibly whitens a little bit as he realizes what I'm capable of. I wouldn't have lasted this long if I couldn't handle myself with a weapon, and the size difference won't matter if he's got a bullet in his gut. Realizing that he's at a disadvantage, he slowly retreats to his previous spot, with a little encouragement from the pistol as I motion for him to sit back down.

"Maybe we can try this again some other time," I comment, feeling slightly bitter since I was the only one willing to even try and talk to the kid. Yeah, I can understand where he's coming from, but at least I'm actually making an attempt!

As I slowly grasp the rung of the ladder, I stop when I hear his small voice calling out to me.

"It's Kyle," he mentions, nodding towards me, "my name's Kyle."

Nodding back towards him, I tell Kyle my name before disappearing back outside; shutting the cellar door behind me.

A name might not seem like much, but at least it's a start. Honestly, it's one hell of a lot more than I thought I would get.

…

"I don't know why you're even bothering with that bastard, Clementine," Lilly remarks, leaning over the kitchen counter as she scans over an old travel brochure of Houston. "He's been nothing but an asshole to you, and there's no point in trying to get close to him. Kyle's just gonna end up stabbing you in the back when he gets the chance."

"We wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't shot both of those guys!" I argue, chipping in my two cents and letting her know that I won't just automatically agree with every decision the group makes. "We all make mistakes, Lilly, and he's no different! We just need to give him a chance."

"This kid isn't our friend, Clem! He's dangerous, and he's _not _a good person! Don't forget which group he comes from…"

Unfortunately… Lilly's got a point there. It took quite a bit of convincing, but Kyle spilled the beans that he was in fact a part of one of those trading groups around Texas. He was holed up in Dallas when they got concerned about a lack of communication from the Houston Hills base, and when the scouting party that they sent ahead never came back (the same duo that tried to take Lilly away) he was sent to investigate.

Too bad for him that we don't give up so easily.

"What else has he told you?" Lilly asks me, waving as Jane walks in after going on a small scavenger run.

Clearing my throat in order to explain some things, I pull up a seat and try to explain it as clearly as I can.

_Flashback…_

"_You know who those are, don't you?"_

"_Who? The walkers?" I ask, shrugging my shoulders as I pretend not to be bothered by it. "Just monsters that used to be people, I guess. Nothing new there."_

"_Don't lie to me, Clementine. I can see right through that," Kyle frowns, patting the fallen bookshelf as I hand him his dinner once again. "They were workers, once upon a time."_

"_Prisoners," I mutter bitterly, clenching a fist in anger. "They were prisoners."_

"_So you do know."_

"_I know that Papa John and Sandro were evil, heartless bullies!" I exclaim, having my cover blown wide open. "They kidnapped us and forced us to work in the fields all day long out in Mexico! Sandro would kill you if you didn't do what he wanted, and Papa John traded us off for freaking food! How… how could you even stand to be in a group like that?"_

"_It… it was either that or starve to death," he admits, stuttering as he fumbles to try and find the right words to say. "I didn't know what they were capable of at the time… Most of 'em used to be farmers, truck drivers and construction workers before all o' this shit started happenin'. I joined up about a year and a half ago, thinking that a big group with food and supplies would be perfect. By the time that I saw what they were doin' to people, it was too late…"_

_Closing my eyes and rubbing my forehead, I try to absorb this information while questioning who exactly is in the wrong here. He hasn't outright said it, but Kyle at one point was definitely in on enslaving the people around Texas and the US-Mexico border. Should I feel sorry for somebody like that?_

_Maybe not… but at least I can tell that he still has a conscience. _

"_That doesn't make up for what they've done," I mention, anger slowly deflating as he stares at the floor. Maybe he's not such a bad dude after all. "Do you honestly think that they're coming back for you?"_

_Thinking it over for a moment, Kyle shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly and sighs._

"_If not for me, then definitely for the house," he explains as he traces his fingers along the dusty floor. "They'll probably end up deciding that enough is enough, drive on over here and shoot you all down."_

"_That won't happen."_

"_They do it all the time, kid. I don't see why it'd be any different now."_

"_We don't die that easily," I respond simply, causing him to chuckle and shake his head. However, if he knew all the crap that we've been through, then his opinion would most definitely change a little bit. We're a force to be reckoned with, even though we're short-staffed. "How do you think that we took Houston Hills over in the first place?"_

_That shuts him up a little bit, as he recalls just how many people they had lost contact with over here. Not just anyone would be able to pull off the stuff that we did at the house, not to mention break out of prison and slaughter anyone who got in our way. Ruthless? Yeah, but there's no time to be timid or afraid when you're trying to survive._

_Why do you think Ben didn't last that long out here?_

"_Everyone's luck runs out eventually," I admit, recalling numerous conversations with Jane about this. "But it doesn't have to be that way – maybe there's some way that we can work this out. Some kind of trade or something."_

"_All they want is you three either to leave or die – that's what their treaty's gonna be," he says darkly, not beating around the bush. "Trust me, they won't just play nice. If you want to live, then I'd suggest that you let me go, pack your bags and hide. It wouldn't be hard, Clem – you could do it right now!"_

"_You know I can't do that, Kyle," I mutter, picking up the tray after he finishes the little meal. "We're not giving this place up after all of that. Besides, where would you even go?"_

"…_somewhere else."_

"_That's stupid."_

_Not saying anything, Kyle returns to his grumpy state as I sigh and look back over at the bookshelf that covers the trap door. The walker moans are still present, but they're not quite as pronounced as they were before. I wonder how far it goes down there, and WHERE it even goes for that matter._

"_Still want to know about them?" Kyle asks quietly as I nod with intent. The boy looks solemn as he begins his explanation. "Well then…"_

"The walkers in the cellar…" I explain, weary as Jane walks in to join our conversation, "they're definitely prisoners, but… it's supposed to be some kind of mine down there. Instead of having them work the fields, they'd dig down there. When the outbreak happened, instead of just letting them leave, Papa John and the rest… they locked the doors. Left them to rot in their own filth. Never gave them food, water or medicine, and just left them down there until they starved to death. Kyle said they did it because the food was drying up, and there wasn't any point in doing mining anymore."

"It was… a genocide…" Lilly concludes, running her fingers through her hair as she shakes her head in disbelief. "They slaughtered… everyone down there… How the fuck could they do that?!"

Jane stares at the wall in complete disgust, also unable to hear what she's heard. This is beyond messed up, and any amount of guilt that I may have had for shooting the guards, Papa John and all the rest pretty much vanished when Kyle told these things to me. I don't even think that Carver would stoop to that level, and he was one of the meanest guys I'd known!

"I'm heading out for a bit…" Lilly says with less spirit than she had before. Something about her eyes is kind of scaring me though. "I need some air."

"Lilly…" Jane stops her at the back door, biting her lip before meeting her eyes. "Just… be careful, alright? We're both right here if you need anything."

Lilly scans her face for any sarcasm or malice behind her meaning, but neither of us can really find any. Jane genuinely means it this time, as she goes up and places a hand on Lilly's shoulder.

Something… _odd_… is going on between them, and I can't really figure out what it is. Jane's hand is sitting on her shoulder for much longer than necessary… but Lilly's not pulling away like I thought she would. She's not telling Jane to get lost or mind her own business, but actually seems appreciative.

It seems that she actually kind of… _likes it._

When Lilly notices my smirk, however, she immediately grunts and brushes her aside; stepping out into the early evening as Jane sighs and leans back against the wall.

I give Jane my best smug face as she looks at me like I'm crazy.

"What?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," I reply, swinging my legs back and forth as I fold my hands underneath my chin. "What was that all about? You're never that nice to Lilly."

"Hey!" she retorts, going slightly red as I chuckle at her embarrassment. "It… it was nothing, Clem. I just want her to be safe out there – you know how it is, with her not having much left to live for and all. I just want to make sure she knows we've got her back."

"Uh huh," I say, unconvinced as I roll my eyes playfully at her. "Whatever you say, Jane. You just keep telling yourself that that's what it is."

Taking my hat off my head and scraping some dirt off of it, Jane ruffles my hair around a little bit and chuckles.

"You're one crazy kid, sis," she remarks, making me swell with happiness. It's times like these that I know I made the right choice at the rest stop.

I'm about to say something else, when I pick up the scent of something really strong-smelling. And it's coming from outside, I think.

"Can you smell that?" I ask, scrunching up my nose as Jane nods in confirmation. "It smells like… burning."

Widening her eyes, Jane immediately grabs her pistol off the counter and sprints out the back, with me close behind as the scent gets more intense. It doesn't take long for us to realize where it is exactly that it's coming from.

"That son of a bitch…" Jane snarls, one hundred percent convinced that Kyle's behind this. "I swear, if I get my hands on him…"

"Why would he do something like this though? It doesn't make sense!" I ask, coughing as Jane opens the cellar doors and pokes her head inside. The smoke's definitely coming from inside here, but… where's the fire?

Quickly but carefully we climb into this gods-forsaken cellar, and watch in shock and slight terror as Lilly stands over the open trap door – a lighter in her hand as Kyle watches the exchange in fear from the corner.

"Lilly… what the hell…" Jane breathes out, with the woman not giving an answer as she wordlessly brushes by the two of us.

"You'll thank me later," is what she says briskly before disappearing back outside, leaving us to gape at the scene that's unfolding down here. Bodies are burning as their skin slowly melts away, leaving nothing but walking sacks of flesh as they slowly (extremely slowly) start to die. It's as if they don't even feel the effects of getting burned, but then again they don't seem to feel the impact of bullets either.

This is going to give me nightmares for quite a while, as I watch the beasts sizzle and get engulfed in flame and ash. They look like demons – demons from another world.

"Still believe hell exists?" Jane asks me, holding a hand over her nose and mouth to block out the smell.

Shrugging and grimacing as the scene continues, I sigh as Kyle looks upon me in fear. I've never seen him so terrified.

"Honestly," I admit, shutting the trap door and turning to Jane, "I don't think that I believe in anything anymore."


	5. Tense

I'm living in a madhouse right now. That's the only word that I can use to describe it – a crazy, messed up, twisted house. Two of the people are pretty darn close to going off the deep end, and one of the people is a hostage who probably wants to murder us in our sleep.

Other than all of that, things are just great!

Don't get me wrong – Jane and Lilly are like family to me, and I'd do anything for them if they needed me to… but they're kind of losing it a little bit. It's all happened so recently, too. All within the span of like a week or so things have gone up and down and all around at Houston Hills, generally for the worse. Lilly's becoming increasingly on edge with each passing day, and I don't know what in the world's going on with Jane. It's almost as if she's preparing for the worst-case scenario all the time; batting down the hatches to last out the storm that's coming. But _what _storm is coming though?!

Oh, and don't even get me started on Kyle – the guy's growing increasingly bitter the longer we keep him in the cellar. The whole room smells disgusting now from the burnt bodies (courtesy of Lilly Caul) and he's refused three of the meals that I've offered him; either kicking them aside angrily or not even bothering to look at it. It's a real shame, since I think at one point we were actually making some progress with him.

Jane handed out an absolute verbal annihilation to Lilly last night, and needless to say the results were less than fantastic. I was told to stay downstairs and scope out for bad guys, but I could still hear the shouting match going on from outside on the porch. I ended up cringing every single time that an f-bomb was dropped, which was actually quite frequent, but the worst part was what they actually were _meaning _to say.

"_We do these fucking things as a group, Lilly! You can't just go off burning shit for fun! What are you turning into, some kind of fucking arsonist?!"_

"_I was doing you a god damn favour! Use your fucking head, Jane! Leaving those fuckers in there would've come back to bite us right in the ass!"_

"_IT'S NOT YOUR CALL!"_

"_WELL SOMEBODY NEEDS TO STEP UP AND ACT LIKE A LEADER AROUND HERE, AND YOU SURE AS HELL AREN'T DOING A GOOD JOB OF THAT!"_

This went on for at least ten minutes straight before it went silent. This really scared me to be honest, and I wanted to intervene so badly, but I'm pretty sure all that would do is cause more problems. I can't be the little kid wanting to stop the grown-ups from fighting, not anymore. They need to figure these things out for themselves. I might not always be around to look after them…

Oh who am I kidding? I couldn't look after Jane and Lilly if my life depended on it!

"Lilly?" I call out, knocking on her door as I see her sitting there reading the Bible of all things. "Can I come in?"

"Door isn't locked," she mumbles, not tearing her vision off the pages as I carefully stroll inside.

Closing the door behind me, I cautiously approach her and tilt my head to the side in curiosity.

"I didn't think you were much of a religious person," I remark, thinking that she would never be into that kind of stuff.

"I flip back and forth on occasion," she replies, shrugging as she turns a page over. "My parents kind of forced me to go to church on Sundays until I was into my early teens, but most of it never really stuck with me, you know? I mean, I find it hard to imagine that some god would allow all of this to happen if there actually was somebody watching over us."

Personally, my family was never really the religious sort – we didn't have time to go usually, since my parents were practically always busy with work or something. Mom would often be down at the hospital for emergency calls, and Dad was always too busy tinkering around with something in the garage to really go to any kind of church.

So, I don't really have an opinion on the matter.

"Hell, who knows, really? The only real way to find out if any religion is right is if you die – and it's not as if they can come back and tell you anything. All they can do is… is try to eat you…"

"I'm worried about you," I interrupt, wanting to get back to the reason that I came in here in the first place. Sighing, Lilly rubs her eyes and groans as I fold my hands into my lap. "We both are. I don't think you're okay, so don't lie to me and say that you are."

"You're a stubborn little bugger, you know that? Nothing gets past you," she jokes, giving me the faintest of smiles before returning to her usual frown. I'm pretty sure she's done this so many times that a frown is like her neutral face.

Lilly's a tough nut to crack, but she's sort of like a piñata – once you bust her open you get a lot more than you bargained for. Underneath that tough, bitter cold exterior is a sense of loyalty and trust that I had never seen before. Back when Lee was still around, I made a habit of not going near her unless it was absolutely necessary – especially after she lost her dad.

"Still wearing those, huh?" she cuts in, not really answering my question about what's bothering her but instead opting to point at my hair bands.

"There never was a point of taking them off," I comment, shrugging as if it's no big deal – which really, it isn't.

"Well, at least I managed to do _something _right back then," she reminisces, which brings me back to that day at the motor-inn.

_Flashback…_

_I hope that Lee's okay… He was supposed to be back with Mark and Kenny ages ago! I was gonna show him one of my chalk drawings, and I need his help for some ideas to finish it._

_Duck's over with Katjaa doing… well, I don't know, but it looks pretty boring! All he ever does is talk about super heroes – I don't see what the big deal is though. They're just people with blankets on their back and wearing really fancy underwear!_

_Let's see… Carley can't play with me, since she's on the RV looking out for bad guys. She's really nice – I like her a lot! I think Lee does too, but I don't think it's the same. He looks at her the same way that my parents do, so that must mean that he REALLY likes her!_

_I hope Mom and Dad are okay though… I haven't heard from them in a long while – not since they went to Savannah. I wish they took me with them…_

_Uh oh… Here comes Larry… He scares me sometimes, you know! Why does he have to be so big and mean and angry all the time?_

"_Umm… hi…" I wave meekly, watching as Larry frowns sorely and grunts before walking off. Sheesh! What did I ever do to him anyways?_

_With no other options, I sigh and decide to give up on drawing right now. There are only so many cats that I can make before wanting to throw something over the fence, which I actually almost did yesterday. Duck stole two of my crayons, and I got REALLY mad! I think it's his job to bug me or something, seriously!_

_Standing up and starting to walk back to the room that Lee and I share, I try to hurry along as I see Lilly wander out of her room. She gets really grumpy sometimes, so I don't feel like bugging her or pushing her buttons. There's got to be a soccer ball somewhere in the room…_

_Tiptoeing towards my room, I don't look over at her on purpose, and I almost make it all the way to the door._

_At least, until I don't._

"_Clem?" she asks me, raising a suspicious eyebrow as she notices me trying to sneak inside. So much for the ninja moves Duck tried to teach me! "What are you up to?"_

"_Oh, hi Lilly… I'm just looking for a ball to play with," I answer truthfully, twirling my foot around and smiling shyly towards her. Mom always told me that it's good to tell the truth, so maybe it'll make Lilly happy like it does for my Mom. _

"_Alright, just try not to make too much noise, okay? We don't need any… bad guys… to hear us," she tells me sternly, to which I quickly nod. You can't say "no" to Lilly, not with her in charge around here. Maybe that's why she's so crabby all the time._

_Nodding again, I twist the doorknob open and step inside our room. Lee says that this place is a m…motel, whatever that means. Our room's pretty small, since there are only two beds and a broken TV sitting in front of them. I miss TV, and it doesn't help when I can't sleep at night. Lee snores super loudly, and the only way to get him to stop is for me to throw pillows at him! _

_Lowering myself to the floor, I dig around under the bed until I grab what I need – a black and white, spotted soccer ball, as I sneeze from all the dust down here. This'll be better than nothing, I guess._

_Satisfied, I stand up with my prize and begin to walk outside… only to bump into Lilly again, who's standing there in the doorway. _

"_Oops! Sorry, Lilly!" I apologize, wondering why she's standing here in the first place. "Umm… did I do something bad?"_

"_No, no. I just forgot to give you something," she explains, holding out some small, stretchy-looking things in her hand. "They're hair bands; I found them in one of the drawers and figured you could use some."_

"_Oh… uh, thanks!" I tell her gratefully, but still looking at them with confusion. What are these for, anyways?_

_Seeing that I'm still standing there not knowing what to do, she picks one up between her fingers and shakes it around a little bit; as if I'm supposed to know what it is she's actually doing._

"_You can tie your hair back with these before you go to sleep," she goes on, gripping the back of her hair to show me how. "It keeps your hair from getting too messy. Get it?"_

"_Ohhhh, okay! Yeah, that makes sense," I nod, taking the handful of them appreciatively. "I'll try them tonight! Thanks, Lilly – that's nice of you!"_

"_Huh…" she trails off, probably not used to people thanking her or calling her "nice". That's so sad though! I wish that there was something I could do to make her feel a bit better…_

_Hmm… maybe she'd like…_

"_Did you, umm… wanna play with me?" I suggest, frowning slightly as she immediately shakes her head. Why doesn't she want to do something fun?_

"_No, I can't afford to do that right now. You go ahead – just remember what I said about the noise," she nods, back to her old self in a second. Before she turns to leave me though, she tilts her head to the side and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "Umm… don't you normally have that hat on, Clem?"_

"_I had it a couple of days ago, but I can't find it anywhere! Maybe it got lost or something! Or stolen by aliens!"_

_Lilly manages to chuckle a little bit, even though I don't think this is funny at all. What if they abducted my hat, and are gonna come back to take away my brain?!_

_I mean, they can't take away Duck's brain – he doesn't even have one!_

"_You should ask Lee when he gets back – maybe he can help you," Lilly suggests as I shrug and walk outside with her. "If you need anything… ask Carley. I'll be on watch."_

_With that, she strolls on over to the RV and shouts for Carley to get out of her seat – I'm pretty sure they don't like each other much. But as I hold the hair thingies in my hand, I smile at the back of the bossy lady's head before putting them in my pocket; making sure not to crush the ripped picture of Lee while doing so. Maybe Lilly's not so scary after all._

_I wonder if Larry's the same way? I should go over and try to talk to him!_

"_Hi, Larry! Want to play with me?" I ask, rolling the soccer ball over to him as he glares at the thing as if it's a bomb or something. He picks the thing up and throws it across the motor-inn; hitting a garbage can as it rolls away near my chalk drawings. It might take a little while to be friends with him…_

"Your dad was a scary dude," I comment, wincing once I realize that I just brought up a taboo topic. Luckily for my health (since I thought for sure that she might have lashed out or something), Lilly simply chuckles and nods her head.

"That he was," she agrees, glancing up at the ceiling as she sighs. "Dad made the whole group uncomfortable at times, but… he was my Dad, and I loved him, you know?"

Nodding and putting on a look of sympathy, I glance to the floor absentmindedly, not really knowing what I can say to cheer her up. Larry was the undisputed king of the assholes, but it was clear that Lilly was the one thing he cared about more than anything else in the world.

Lee must've known that, too.

"I still don't forgive him, and I don't think that I ever actually _can _forgive him, but… maybe Kenny was kind of right," she continues, which shocks me to the core. Seriously?! We all _saw _what happened in the dairy, and we were all convinced that there was no reason to kill Larry like that.

"Lilly… we saw him breathe, though!"

"He had a heart attack, Clem – it could've just been his body trying to fight it off. Dad's heart was always acting up, and I knew it was only going to be a matter of time," she admits sadly, still bitter over the whole experience – as she should be. "I knew it was going to come eventually… but the way it happened was just so fucking barbaric. If you and Lee weren't in there with me, I probably would've tried to kill Kenny. But it looks like you beat me to the punch."

"I hated doing it – it felt like Lee all over again," I tell her while shaking my head. Shooting Kenny a little while after having reunited with him… I'm pretty sure a part of me broke that day. He may have been a complete dick at times, but I still cared about him like family – he was the crazy, psycho, loveable uncle that'd get drunk at the gatherings. "But he… he just lost it. I tried to bring him back, but he was just…just…"

"Too far gone?"

"Yeah, that's it," I nod with regret. I wanted to connect with the guy so badly, but he was in no state to move on. Kenny wasn't stable in the head, and it just got worse after Howe's and Sarita dying. And regardless of Jane setting it up to make Kenny seem out of control (which really, he was), I knew that it'd be better this way.

Kenny should've been put out of his misery a long time ago.

"You still haven't told me what's wrong, by the way," I inform, suddenly remembering what it is that I came up here for in the first place. "Why didn't you wait for us to help get rid of the walkers?"

"Jane didn't want to, remember?"

"Lilly," I interrupt sternly as I fold my arms across my chest, "that doesn't cut it. What you did in the cellar… that wasn't normal. You looked like a crazy person."

Scoffing, Lilly slams a fist into the mattress as she glares intensely at the wall. Clearly that's not what she wants to hear.

Well, Lilly, too bad! There's no use in pretending that everything is fine around here!

"I'm not crazy…" she retorts bitterly, acting like a stubborn two year old. "I did what I had to – I made the hard choice that kept us going, like always!"

"You didn't have to set them on fire like that, Lilly! You scared me!" I argue, watching as her expression cools down a little bit. "We've already got enough problems right now… please don't turn bad. We need you here with us, Lilly. Jane and I both need you."

Shutting her eyes tightly, I can tell that Lilly's trying her best not to scream out loud. She's had to put up with so much shit, and is always expected to go the extra mile even after the worst of circumstances. Hopefully this doesn't come off as mean, but maybe this can fuel that fire that she's got going inside her.

"I'm gonna check on Kyle again," I tell her, standing up to leave her to her thoughts. Before exiting the room however, as my hand grasps the doorknob, I half-turn my head back towards her. "Please don't leave the group again, Lilly. You're not alone this time."

"…it seems like I've got a lot more reason to stay this time around," she mutters, reigniting my hope at least a little bit. "I won't let you down again – that's all I can say."

"Then it's good enough," I reply, before opening the door and heading out.

…..

"I don't know if you're hungry, but we've got some leftover meat from scavenging if you want," I tell the guy, wandering over awkwardly as Kyle sits there in the dark. Lilly must've scared the crap out of him as well.

There's something different about him this time around – before, I had actually gotten him to open up a little bit, and I dare say that we might've actually been close to being friends.

But now, Kyle's sitting in the dark corner and glowering at the floor with his hands in his lap. He doesn't say anything, but his body language gives me all the info that I need – he doesn't want to be here in the slightest. There's no way that I can just let him go though, since Jane and Lilly would probably strangle me. This guy's our only shot at making sure that the guys from his camp don't just waltz on over here and shoot us to pieces. Our luck can only go so far, even with how fortunate we've managed to be.

Luck won't block bullets from hitting the house, that's for sure.

"I'm sorry… you know, about Lilly," I say to him, turning around to pick up some of the garbage that's left on the opposite side of the room. I'm facing away from him; not being able to notice a damn thing. "We talked about it, and I don't think she's gonna try something like that any time soon. Well, I can't promise anything, but… you know."

Placing the various napkins, plastic wrappers and other garbage into a neat pile, I wrinkle up my nose and internally gag at the burned smell that still lingers in the air. Man… rotting corpses are one thing, but _burned_, rotting corpses are another smell entirely.

"Ugh… that's disgusting," I comment, still not hearing any sort of response from Kyle as I look around for something to scoop up this mess. "I wish we had one of those air fresheners around here. It might make it a bit more comfortable for you."

"Don't move."

Freezing, my blood runs cold as Kyle's voice looms right behind me; the cold, metal of my gun brandished around my left ear as he holds it threateningly at me. The stupid thing must've been sticking out of my pocket, which made it easy pickings for Kyle to just sneak over here and take it.

Stupid, careless and ignorant of my surroundings – these are three qualities that I promised myself that I'd fix, especially after Savannah. It was these three things that got Lee killed, in my opinion.

"Maybe we should've just shot you after all…"

"The gun's in my hands now, Clementine. You'd best shut your mouth and do exactly as I say," he warns, grabbing the back of my collar and slightly choking me with it as he drags me backwards. I'd try to struggle against him, but like Kyle said – he's got the gun now.

I just need to play this cool, and don't do anything stupid.

"You and I are gonna go for a little road trip," he tells me, making me shake in worry. No way in hell am I leaving Jane and Lilly! What does this jerk think he's doing?! "You people killed my friends and tied me up in a fucking rat hole, so I'm gonna return the favour. An eye for an eye, isn't that how it goes?"

"Just put the gun down, Kyle. We can talk about this," I try reasoning, but there's no changing his mind it seems. Kyle's set in his ways.

"It's too late to go back, Clem. You… you're not like them. You've got heart at least, but… that's what's gonna screw you over," he says, and I grunt as he forcefully shoves me over to the exit ladder. "It's not personal, Clementine, but you know how it is. If you had let me go like I asked you to, then maybe we wouldn't have been in this situation. This is just revenge, nothing more, nothing less. I'll either drive out, shoot you right in the legs and leave you for the walkers, or if I'm feeling generous, maybe I'll take you back with me to my camp. Maybe that'll give Lilly and Jane something to think about."

"You're a fucking monster…"

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Tsk-tsk," he shakes his head, smirking devilishly. Kyle has officially lost his mind, like so many others before him. Everyone's got their limit. "You first, up the ladder. I'll kill you if you scream or try to run away, so don't bother."

"You said that you're gonna kill me anyways!" I yell, but zipping my mouth closed as he holds the pistol warningly right between my eyes.

"Fuck up like that again, and you won't even make it out of the cellar. Lead me to the car, and _only _the car," he instructs coldly, interrupted by the sounds of the few remaining walkers that are left underneath the trap door.

Seeing no way out of this, I reluctantly do as he commands and grasp the first rung of the ladder…

…and my short-haired, female knight in shining armour picks the perfect time to come to the rescue.

"Clem?" she calls out as Kyle hides behind one of the walls of the cellar; still pointing the gun towards me and putting one finger up to his lips. If I spill the beans right now, I'm so dead. "You alright in there? I thought I heard some shouting."

"…everything's cool…" I reply quietly, trying to sound unconvincing while also wanting to make sure that Kyle doesn't realize what I'm doing. "Just, umm… giving Kyle some food…"

Jane pauses for a moment, narrowing her gaze slightly as she studies my face. Thank god that it's Jane over here and not anybody else, because she practically knows me inside and out at this point. She can tell when I'm under duress, and I can see in her eyes that she knows something's up.

After all, we sisters have to look out for each other, don't we?

"I'm coming down to check," she suddenly tells me, and for a moment I think that this is where it's going to end. One of us will die right here, since Kyle will most likely shoot Jane as soon as she makes her way down to the bottom, or me if he gets pissed off enough.

When neither of those things happen, and I hear the empty _click _of the pistol, I visibly relax a little bit. It seems that my carelessness about the bullets has paid off this time.

As soon as Jane jumps downwards, I glare fiercely towards Kyle as he quickly hides the pistol in his back pocket. But honestly, what's that going to do? We both know that Jane won't believe a word that this asshole says!

I open my mouth to speak as Kyle glares daggers back at me, but I'm interrupted by the sound of some voices outside.

"_This the place?"_

"_Yeah, them fuckers have gotta be 'round here somewhere. Search high and low!"_

As I try to remain silent while also fearing for who they might be (even though I've got a hunch that I already know), Jane clocks Kyle in the nose roughly. She then grabs his neck and pins him against the wall; brandishing her own pistol as she notices mine fall out of his pocket.

"I should fucking kill you right now…" she snarls venomously, turning the safety off as Kyle's face visibly whitens. "But I won't. Not yet."

"What… what the fuck are you gonna do, bitch?!" Kyle spits, even though Jane and I can both tell that he's shitting his pants.

Jane gets a wicked glint in her eye that I've seen before – the one she gets when she's either dangerous or totally angry, and sometimes a bit of both.

"Live bait," she replies, motioning for me to quickly go up the ladder while they fall in behind. Not needing to be told twice, I stealthily make my way upwards while trying to make as little noise as possible.

My heart races when I see at least three cars on the right side of the driveway alone.

"Holy shit!" I hear Kyle yelp as he races up the ladder, trying to escape but being tripped up by me. Jane quickly follows in behind, and when I nervously ask what she did, she simply shakes her head and tells me not to worry about it.

However, it doesn't take long for me to realize that she's opened up the trap door downstairs – what she plans on doing with that is anyone's guess.

"Into the house. Now," she forcefully tells Kyle, sticking the gun in his back as I see Lilly creeping from down the stairs; a rifle in her hands. As soon as she sees Jane with Kyle, Lilly seems to know exactly what's going down.

"Clem, make sure that door stays locked," Lilly whispers harshly, and I quickly nod while trying to move one of the chairs up against the door frame. "Grab a gun from the counter, and you shoot anyone who comes inside – no exceptions. Got it?"

The Clementine of three years ago would've immediately said no and shied away from using a gun, but now…

Nodding with determination, I pick up a pistol as well as some rounds; watching as Kyle fiercely scowls at me before getting forced upstairs. Lilly's leading in the front, while Jane monitors closely behind.

Nobody's getting in here – nobody.


	6. Abandoned

**AN: I'm going to cue in the scene, but you should listen to "Warm Shadow" by Fink when reading this. It makes the whole thing seem way more epic :) **

"_Try the lock again. Maybe you're not twisting it hard enough."_

"_I'm trying here, but the damn thing is stuck! I think there's something blocking the door from the other side!"_

"_Do you think it's a person?"_

"_Could be – who knows?"_

What a bunch of buffoons. This clearly doesn't seem like the smart, sophisticated, evil hunter group that Kyle had been describing to me earlier in the week; not if they can't even get through a locked door. I've got a chair leaned up against the handle, but that probably isn't going to last long. If they've got the weapons, then it's only going to be a matter of time before…

"_Blow it."_

"_What, are you serious?! What happened to taking this place over?!"_

"_It won't matter if we can't get in, now will it? Just shoot the lock and we'll bust it open!"_

Narrowing my eyes, I take a deep breath and try to calm myself down; holding my pistol out in front of me and getting prepared for whatever it is I meet on the other side. I've got a little bit of cover from behind this couch, but it won't matter if they storm inside. I'll just have to make every shot count.

Whatever you're doing up there, Lilly and Jane, you better do it fast! Who knows how long we'll be able to endure out here before we get overwhelmed?

Small, wooden splinters go flying off the door frame as the bad guys shoot a few times at the door, and I have to shield my eyes from getting any of the sawdust in them. Clearing my throat, I quickly regain my position and wait patiently as they try body checking the door inwards.

Come and get me, you sons of…

As soon as I see a hand reaching inside, I fire directly at the man's fingers twice as he howls in agony; unable to do anything as his hand is blown to pieces trying to reach inside. Bloody bits of finger are scattered on the floor as he retreats, but it's not too long before more of these guys slam into the doorway and start knocking over the chair that I placed in front. I'm shaking a little bit in anticipation – partly because of what I'm going to do if they break in, but also because I'm almost certain that they have us surrounding on all sides of the house. There's a wall behind me that shields me from getting shot in the back, but this isn't going to go well.

If only there was a way that we could lose them!

"_We've got a hell of a lot more firepower than you do!" _yells a booming voice from the other side of the door, but I steel my nerves and say nothing. No use in letting them know exactly where I am right now. _"Any more gunfire from you, and we'll come back at you with twice the force! Put your fucking gun down if you want to live!"_

_Fat chance, _I think to myself, not swayed by his commands as I shuffle to the left a little bit. As soon as I let my guard down, I know damn well that they'll shoot me to pieces anyways. I won't give them that satisfaction – I don't plan on dying today.

A few more kicks to the front (and now extremely rickety) door, and the chair unfortunately collapses behind it. The men pause for a few seconds before kicking it open and holding their guns out in front of them.

I've decided to go stealthy a little bit and hide myself behind the couch – Duck would be so proud of me!

"Check your corners…" somebody whispers, as I see the shadows dancing upon the hardwood floor. Thank god that they haven't noticed me yet… "You can make this easy on yourself, whoever you are! Just come out with your hands in the air! I promise no harm will come to ya, as long as you do what we ask!"

Making sure that my breathing is as quiet as possible, I keep my head down and wait until a few of them start to head into the kitchen. The loud thumps of their boots shake the floor as they march further into the house, and as much as I'd love to fulfill Lilly's request about keeping them all out, it's just not feasible this time. Trying to shoot them all at once would be suicide.

Sometimes it's better to have the element of surprise on your side – I find it goes by much more smoothly that way.

"_Man, would you look at this place?" _a voice quietly echoes from the kitchen. _"Totally intact, and they've got enough guns to last for years out here!"_

"_Yeah, well they're ours now. Put 'em in the bag and scrounge up the rounds together. Remember – we're not alone."_

Oh shit… I totally forgot that we still had a huge stash of guns sitting in the kitchen! God damn it, this isn't going to go well! I need to do something!

Lilly and Jane need to do something!

Clenching a small fist, I angrily grit my teeth together and hold my pistol in front of me. This is either going to go really well, or really, really badly. Here's hoping that scenario one happens instead…

Crawling underneath the sofa, I pull myself up on the other side and aim my gun right at the back of a man's head.

_BAM!_

Once he goes down in a dead heap, his buddy turns around and fires right above my head; shattering a picture frame into a million pieces.

_BAM!_

He goes down from a bullet to the throat as he collapses onto another guy behind him; falling like bowling pins as I shoot twice more into two more men.

_BAM! BAM!_

Four down so far… but there's still a ton to go.

"_SHOOT HER FUCKING BRAINS OUT!" _somebody screeches, but I shoot that guy twice – one in the thigh and one in the chest – before he goes down and tries to crawl away to safety. Bits of couch are torn up as somebody with a machine gun fires towards me, but somehow I manage to avoid all of it after the fighting slows to a halt.

My ears are ringing like crazy as I hear some muffled voices shouting out, then some more gunshots I think, but it quickly stops again as I lay flat on the floor and try to stop this pounding in my head. My senses are reacting like crazy, and I find it difficult to move around (not that it was easy to before with my legs the way they were).

Looking upwards, I groggily see a mean-looking dude with a shotgun pointed right at my face. He's saying something to me, but I can't quite make it out as I slowly lower my gaze back downwards. I'm actually pretty surprised that he hasn't shot me yet, as my hearing slowly comes back to me.

"DROP IT!" Jane shouts, aiming an assault rifle directly at the man as Lilly comes down behind her – Kyle in her firm grip as she holds a knife dangerously close to his neck. "Put your fucking gun on the floor! Do it right now, or else Lilly's gonna gut your friend right in front of you! There's no need for anymore of this!"

"You're not exactly in a position to make demands," one of the men states calmly, aiming his pistol at Jane from the other side as the shotgun lowers closer to my head. This guy must be the leader of their little group. "But you've got a point – there's already enough volence been done here, courtesy of your little friend in the corner."

Jane looks worriedly over at me, but I just silently nod towards her to let her know that I'm alright. I'm scared, but other than that I'm perfectly okay. Not a bullet wound on me.

I can't say the same for the rest of these guys.

"Let her go and get out, and we'll give Kyle back to you with no problems," Jane says, not putting her gun away in case something happens. "Nobody else needs to get hurt."

"You've killed four of our guys," the leader replies in a neutral tone. "You'll have to do better than that, I'm afraid."

"Six! They killed six!" Kyle shouts out, crying out in pain as Lilly roughly knees him in the back. "Tino… and Martinez… they killed…"

"You're more trouble than you're worth," Lilly spits, holding the knife even closer to his neck as she draws some blood from his skin.

The standoff goes on for another ten seconds or so, with both sides unwavering as I sit on the floor and wait – either for my execution or for my salvation. The suspense along is enough to kill me, and you could cut through the tension in the room like a hot knife through butter. Jane looks about ready to tear their heads off; especially the bastard with the shotgun over my head, and Lilly would be more than willing to go down to the wire in order to protect us.

Sighing deeply, the leader of these guys puts his pistol back into his pocket and whistles for the rest of his men to stand down. There's quite a whack of them outside as well, and it's almost like a party in here with all the people standing around.

"Keep an eye on her, Henry," the leader says, looking down upon me with distrust. "Don't let her get out of your sight. If she runs, kill her."

"Over my dead body," Lilly snaps, not releasing Kyle as her grip becomes more forceful. Kyle looks like he's about ready to cry, and even I can't help but feel slightly bad for the kid. We treated him like crap for quite some time.

"The name's Derek, by the way," the leader introduces, though it makes no difference to any of us. All we know is that he was a part of the little evil syndicate thing they had going on with Papa John and Sandro, which automatically puts him as bad in my books. "How's about we talk somewhere less… hostile? I'm willing to be open about negotiations this time around."

Henry roughly yanks me upwards by the collar of my shirt and shoves me against the wall, and Jane looks upon me with hesitation. We both know how badly this will end if we don't give them what they want, so reluctantly she sighs and nods; heading towards the kitchen with a grimace. Lilly follows in behind her with Kyle still in her grasp, but when I try to go as well I'm shoved back to the wall.

"Not you," Henry chastises, glaring at me sharply as if he's trying to scare me into submission. "You stay out here where I can see ya. No more shootin' up the place, ya hear?"

"Don't tell me what to do!" I retort, but I fall silent as Jane shakes her head at me.

"It's alright, Clem," she hushes quietly, folding her arms across her chest as she glares at Henry. "But if you so much as lay one of your fat fucking fingers on her again, I'll chop your balls off and feed 'em to the walkers. I'm not kidding."

"Feisty one, ain't she?" Henry chuckles, but releasing his hand from my shoulder as Derek motions for him to do so. "We shouldn't be listening to a damn word they say, Derek. They shouldn't have the right to speak!"

"We can be the better people here, Henry. We can't lose control of our humanity," Derek advises, making me wonder what his game is here. What could he possibly have to gain from doing this?

Lilly clears her throat before they step inside, motioning towards the rest of the armed men before Jane nods and glares sharply at them.

"Everyone else needs to leave," she demands, showing that maybe she can be a leader out here even though she doesn't believe it herself. She's got the qualities to be one, but she just doesn't quite have the self-confidence in her just yet. "I don't like the idea of you assholes looting around our place while we're here. You can have one other person, but everyone else needs to either go home or wait outside."

"Fair enough," Derek acknowledges, snapping his fingers as his followers reluctantly walk back out the front; glowering over towards me as they drag their dead out with them. I hear a few gunshots coming from outside, but that's most likely just to prevent the dead guys from turning – nothing to worry about. "But she waits out here with Henry. That's the deal."

I really want to protest, not at all liking the idea of being stuck in a room with this bull-headed jerkface, but I opt not to as Henry goes over to the other side of the room.

"Be careful…" I whisper to Jane and Lilly, as they both nod and head inside with Derek.

Something tells me that these so called _negotiations _are going to be a little bit more than unfair.

….

_Jane's POV_

"Sit down and don't move," Lilly orders, practically tossing the shithead into the chair as Kyle gasps and clutches his throat in relief. I had half a mind to slit his throat when we were upstairs and toss his lifeless body out the window for his buddies to see, but that would've just put Clementine in grave danger.

But holy fucking shit… she took down four men armed to the teeth at twelve years old! I know that I sure as hell didn't teach her how to do that, and I'm pretty sure that Lilly didn't either.

There's almost no denying it now – Clementine's gonna outlast us all.

"So," Derek begins, folding his hands together on the table as he smirks towards Kyle, "I expect that they've been courteous to you since you've been staying here, Kyle? Plenty of food, a nice, warm bed? You know, some of that good, old southern hospitality?"

"We gave him food," I bite back sharply, folding my arms across my chest as I recall what he was about to do to Clementine. "That was being generous enough. It was way more than he deserved."

"Bullshit! You people are fucking parasites!" Kyle roars pathetically, slamming his fist on the table in aggravation. "They locked me in a fucking cellar with walkers right below me, and didn't even give me the time of day! You've got to believe me, Derek! They're monsters!"

"What do you want from me, kid? Would you like me to wipe your ass for you, too?!" he asks sarcastically, smacking the guy across the back of the head. "Jesus, come back to me when you actually grow a pair! They gave you food, Kyle – that's more than most people would've given you under the circumstances."

This guy's smart, I'll give him that much at least. Smart, but still a complete asshole. I can't let myself forget about the fact that he and the rest of his group were responsible for murdering hundreds, and enslaving hundreds more into this sick, twisted business deal. It's always important to keep in mind who the real enemies are.

He and the rest of his crew are definitely near the top of my list.

"What's it gonna take to reach a deal?" Lilly breaks the ice, wanting to get right to the point and get these dickheads out of here as fast as possible. That's one of the things that I lo… _like _about her – her ability to think on the fly and deal with the situation at hand.

Man, where did _that _come from?

"Right down to business, eh? I like that," Derek nods with a smug look on his face, forgetting about Kyle for a brief moment as he turns to the two of us. "Hmm, let's see… well, for starters, you three need to surrender – no exceptions. An immediate ceasefire from you three, with no strings attached."

I already don't like where this is going. Lilly seems as though she's going to pop a gasket herself.

"Second," he continues, either oblivious to our reactions or just trying to egg us on, "we get Houston Hills, along with everything inside of it. You've got not claim over the land, and it was stated in one of our contracts before all of this happened that we'd be the next in line to obtain the house, should anything happen to the previous owner. We'll give you a bagful of supplies and let you be on your way."

"Too bad we weren't there to sign that contract – that's not happening," I refuse, not backing down just because they have more people than we do. "We got this house fair and square."

"You slaughtered the previous owners in cold blood and stole the property from them. You'd probably get the electric chair if that thing was still around," Derek replies, his face revealing a twinge of resentment towards us as his eyebrow twitches. "Besides, we've got you all surrounded. Do you really think that you can shoot your way out of this one?"

"Four of your guys just got taken out by a twelve year old girl. You do the math."

Falling silent for a few seconds, Derek pauses in order to collect his thoughts. Stealing a quick glance over at Lilly, she shrugs and pretty much tells me that she doesn't know what else we can do. We don't exactly have the same leverage that we did beforehand, not now that Kyle's sitting right beside his boss. Maybe if I keep pressuring him with suggestions, then he'll cave and let us go off scott-free.

Or, maybe he'll just order his little shit stains to come in here and finish the job. One way or the other, we'll be ready.

"I don't think you ladies realize the severity of your situation," Derek tells us darkly, glowering upon us as he raises his head back up to face us. The man's pretty intimidating when he wants to be, but nobody – and I mean _nobody_ – is more intimidating than Lilly. She's even scared _me _a few times, and that doesn't happen very often. "My man Henry in there still has his gun, and – "

"You promised us!" Lilly roars, her eyes fierce and deadly as she stands up and slams her fist on the table in rage. "You lying son of a bitch! You told us she'd be safe!"

"I promised no such thing," he responds with a shrug, his hand deep in his pocket as Lilly reluctantly sits back down. "Did you honestly think that you'd have any power here? We've got enough weapons out there to blow this entire place up twice."

"You're bluffing," I accuse, trying to squirm our way out of potential danger as he chuckles mirthlessly.

"I wouldn't want to test that theory, if I were you. The odds aren't exactly in your favour," he states, calm as ever as he places his hands in his lap. "We haven't done that yet, though. We're not monsters – we're survivors. Monsters kill without remorse and don't even blink an eye at violence; monsters kill for fun. We're not like you three."

"You're garbage that enslaves people for sport and supplies," Lilly remarks bitterly, reminding me of the prison and all of that nonsense that occurred there. "You people might talk a big game; about how you're all _humane _and _justifiable_, but at the end of the day you're cowards. You take people who've got nothing left and force them to do your dirty work."

"That's pretty big talk for somebody like you. If I recall correctly, you three butchered the prison, killed everyone inside of Houston Hills, and then killed half a dozen of my men," he counts off of his fingers, and he smirks wickedly as I realize that he's got a bit of a point. We're not exactly _good people _ourselves – you can't be out here, really. "We're not so different, you and I. That's why I've got another idea in mind – a better idea, for both parties."

Looking over at my good friend, the both of us are weary as we start to listen to whatever self-absorbed plan he's cooked up this time.

"We'll leave the house… but so will you," he pitches, which confuses the living hell out of me. Why would he want to do that? "You two will come and join us back at our base – we're well armed, well stocked with supplies and can fend off the dead pretty easily. We need marksmen like you two among our ranks."

"What about Clementine?" I ask, shocked that I'm even willing to consider this option. Derek remains quiet for a few seconds, which pisses me off as I snap my fingers to get his attention. "Look at me, damn it! What about fucking Clementine?!"

"The girl will be set free," he answers, not caring at all about her well-being in the slightest. "There's no way that she could join our numbers, not with how she killed four of our own right in front of us. She'll be better off wandering by herself."

"She'll die out there!" Lilly retorts, as I lower my shocked gaze to the table. This… this can't be it… "That's not happening! Clem's got more balls than all of your crew put together, and she doesn't deserve to just get tossed aside like a piece of trash! Jane, back me up here!"

"…can you guarantee that she'll get a shot?"

"JANE?! WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"We can give her a bag of supplies and two of the guns," Derek agrees, nodding as he looks towards the door that leads out to the hallway. "But that's it – the rest is ours, and rightfully so."

Closing my eyes tightly, I grit my teeth together so hard that I feel as though they might shatter in my mouth. With an extremely heavy heart, I swear under my breath and reluctantly nod in agreement.

"Very well – glad we could come to an understanding," Derek acknowledges, standing up along with Kyle as they prepare to exit the kitchen. "We'll give you twenty minutes, and then we're off."

As soon as they exit the kitchen, Lilly's almost immediately on my ass about the decision. I can't exactly blame her this time, either.

"Have you lost your fucking mind?!" Lilly berates, unable to believe what I just agreed to. I still can't believe it myself, to tell the truth. "You're fucking crazy! How could you do this, Jane?!"

"There wasn't any god damn choice!"

"There's ALWAYS a choice!"

"Yeah? Well if there is, then I don't fucking see it!" I yell, wanting nothing more than to cry when I realize that we still have to talk to Clementine after all of this. "God damn it… she… she can make it, Lilly! She just… she just has to! She's smart, and she's a survivor – we've seen it before!"

"Derek just sentenced her to death…" Lilly breathes out, running her hands through her hair in exasperation, "and you agreed to it. I hope you're fucking proud of yourself, Jane…"

"Go to hell," I bite back, snarling my words even though I don't really mean it. The gravity of the situation is just getting too much for my head to spin around. "This is her only chance – it's either this, or they'll kill her. Who's to say that they wouldn't kill us as well?"

"…how the hell are we gonna tell this to her…"

"I… I don't know," I admit, sagging back in my seat as I groan and rub my face tiredly. This can't be happening, and I'd do anything at all to prevent it, but it is. Clementine needs to leave us… this could possibly be the very last time that we see her.

I'm going to lose a sister again.

…..

_Clem's POV_

"No…" I shake my head, unwilling and unable to believe that this is happening as tears start to well up in my eyes. "I'm not leaving! No! We stay together, like always!"

"You can't, Clem," Jane responds sadly, probably not wanting this to happen as much as I do. But if that's the case, then why is she doing it?! Did the past year mean nothing to her?! To either of them?! "You can't get tied down to anyone, remember? Get too attached and a piece of you breaks off… This is the only way."

"Why…"

"You're gonna live, Clem. I know that you will. You're gonna outlast us all, remember?" Jane tells me, but I don't believe her anymore. I've had enough of her lies – Jane and Lilly are sending me off knowing that I won't last a minute out there on my own.

I've had more than enough.

"Fine…" I shrug off her grasp, which only seems to sadden Jane even more as Lilly stands there silently. "I don't need this! You want me to go so badly? Fine! I'll… I'll leave! I can find my own way! I don't need you, not anymore! So just go! LEAVE!"

My words cut deep, I can tell, as I sprint with the bag of supplies right past her and Lilly. I hear Derek tell somebody to follow me, and then I hear Lilly's screams following afterwards, but I'm too saddened to turn back around. I can't go back… there's no going back now.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I shriek to Kyle as he casually walks behind me; no doubt pissed off that he has to follow me around. I'd shoot him right in the head, but all that would do is attract unwanted attention right now.

I've got other plans for him…

Knowing that I won't last a minute out in the hot, desert-like area that surrounds us, I head back into the cellar and hide in the shadows – waiting for Kyle to inevitably follow me downstairs.

"I've been waiting a long time for this," Kyle taunts as my eyes focus on the open trap door that Jane had left open. I know now what she intended by doing that…

It's a last resort; an escape route that we could possibly use in order to get away from these assholes.

But this time it's just me… I've been tossed aside carelessly, and nobody would give a damn if I lived or died. Maybe it's just the grief and frustration talking, but that's how I feel right now.

**AN: Cue "Warm Shadow" music!**

Quickly and quietly making my way over, I cringe as I see that some walkers are still reaching upwards through the hole. Don't these things ever quit?!

I lay in waiting; acting patiently as my prey comes down the ladder.

…

_Jane's POV_

Lilly and I are restrained from behind as we're put on a forced march through hell – out of Houston Hills and out onto the stone driveway where everyone else is waiting. They don't want us to join them! They'd probably rather see both of our heads on a spike!

But that's not what's completely broken me inside. No… what's shattered my soul and spirit into a million tiny pieces is the way that Clementine left. _Don't go like this_, is what I kept saying in my head, but I couldn't force the words out of my mouth. It would be too final, and there would be too much crushing grief for me to bear. I just left a part of my family in there… again… and she might never come back. I'd wanted to avoid this all along – ever since that overwhelming fear of what she would say after I tricked Kenny into thinking the baby was dead.

I guess that karma's come back to bite me in the ass, hasn't it?

Lilly thrashes about violently as she's held back by two men, but I don't even put up a fight. What's the point? All it's going to do is waste my energy.

Looking up at Derek's smug face, I glance back down to the ground; utterly defeated for the first time in a very, very long time.

Clem's gone… and this time I can't bring her back.

"Burn it down," Derek orders, and even then I can't force myself to question why he's doing something. I'm just too damn tired.

Too tired of losing people; too tired of fighting.

All I ever do is push onwards – what's the point anymore?

…..

_Clem's POV_

"I can't wait to string my hands around your little, fucking neck…" Kyle rants, looking around the cellar for any trace of me. I won't let this bastard touch me. "I've hated your guts ever since I laid eyes on you, Clem. You're a worthless, spineless waste of space, and I'm going to put you down once and for all. I'd probably be doing this world a service."

What is it that he told me once? Shoot me on the side of the road and leave him for the walkers?

…maybe he should get a taste of his own medicine. My plan is going along pretty nicely so far.

Just a little bit closer, you piece of crap…

Once Kyle slowly walks over towards my location, a loaded gun in hand and a small cut across his neck from Lilly cutting him, I aim my pistol while still hiding behind the trap door. Almost there…

"Ha! Found you, you little bitch!" Kyle proclaims, reaching out and smacking me across the head; knocking off my hat in the process

NOBODY touches the hat!

Walking around the door and not really thinking anything of it, Kyle hurries towards me as hits me twice more, leaving me with three big red marks on my cheeks as my hatred for this guy burns fiercely in my eyes.

"Aww, what are you gonna do? Cry?" he taunts, kicking me in the stomach as I keel over on the floor. "Come on, Clem! Aren't you gonna fight back? There ain't nobody around to save you this time, so you'd best be trying yourself! Still nothing? Hmph, you're even more of a coward than I thought!"

With that, he picks me up by the scruff of my shirt, pins me to the wall and clutches my throat tightly; trying his best to strangle me to death as I start to panic.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you," he whispers, not noticing that my gun's still in my hand. "This is for everything you've done to me! I'll be sure to give Lilly and Jane your regards when I head back to them! I'll – "

The gun goes off as I shoot him three times in the leg, causing him to lose his grasp on me as I gasp for air. My throat's definitely sore, but that's _nothing _compared to my burning hatred for Kyle. After struggling to regain my breath, I stand up and loom over top of the man.

"No mercy… remember?"

"Please…" he begs, showing his true colours once again as he clutches his bullet wounds in pure agony. "Oh god… please just… leave me! I swear that I won't do anything to you! I… I give you my word!"

"I don't care what you promise," I tell him quietly, no emotion in my voice as I shoot him in the hip. His screams get louder as I continue to lose control. "You're already dead, as far as I care."

Getting a wicked glint in my eye, I drag him painfully by the leg over to the trap door – he desperately begs me not to do this as he realizes what I'm about to do.

"PLEASE DON'T! I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT! ANYTHING!"

"Goodbye… Kyle…" I tell him simply, shoving him into the hole and watching as he screams in pain and fear. The walkers do their job well enough, and a part of my sanity breaks as I watch him get absolutely ripped apart; limb from limb. His stomach is gouged out as the walkers feast upon his intestines, and he utters one final scream before his throat is torn out from its correct position. The blood and guts make me want to throw up enough as it is, but… the severity of my actions hits me like a brick wall.

Realizing that there's truly no going back the way that I came, I wait until the walkers are all preoccupied with eating Kyle before making my final decision.

With a loud gulp, I throw my legs over the edge and jump down into the depths below.

_AN: And that's the end of book one! I hope you guys are enjoying this, and as for the future chapters here's how it's going to go. There'll be two different adventures going on: Lilly and Jane's story, along with Clementine's story. You'll know which one it is when you start to read it, so that won't be a problem. All I can tell you is that it'll hopefully be epic, awesome and satisfying (again, hopefully lol). _

_Anyways, hope you've enjoyed so far and please drop a review! They're always appreciated!_

_Leafs Nation_


	7. All by myself

_AN: Just before I start this chapter, I want to give a HUGE shoutout to Oreo Anarchy for the phenomenal cover art she created! I've got no words – literally, I was astonished at the attention to detail she put in this, it left me with my jaw hanging open lol. Big thanks goes to her, YOU ROCK! If you'd like to see more of her work, then be sure to check her stuff on deviantArt – the username is KeitorinSukotto. Seriously, you've got an awesome talent with this stuff :) _

I don't need them anymore than they need me. They made that perfectly clear back in the house – sending me off on my own without a word of explanation. Sure, right when the chips are down and the bad guys come storming in, of course _that's _when they decide to throw me to the wolves! If they wanted me out that badly, then the least they could've done is just talk to me about it! I knew it all along… I was a liability; a waste of their resources. All of that time pushing me around in the chair could've been spent fortifying the house, or scouting out other places so that something like this wouldn't happen.

But I thought Jane and Lilly were my friends… We'd been through so much together, after all.

But I was deceived and tricked into thinking that they were going to try and protect me the way I would for them. They didn't care at all! The only thing they were doing was looking out for themselves, and I didn't realize it until it was far too late!

Now instead of going with Jane and Lilly, I'm stuck down in god-knows-where and running from the walkers that are still feasting on Kyle…

I still can't believe that I did that…

Breathing heavily, my mind starts to panic as I run faster and faster through some kind of tunnel it looks like. Wooden support beams keep the entire thing from collapsing, but they sure don't seem very safe to me. Almost every time that I come close to one of them, I can hear the slow creak of wood; scaring the crap out of me along with the fear of being eaten alive.

"Gotta find shelter…" I encourage myself, releasing shaky breaths as the low groans become increasingly distant. Well, at least Lilly managed to kill _some _of them at least. I don't think that that would've gone nearly as smoothly otherwise.

It's almost pitch black in here, so I stop to ruffle around in my bag for a second. Sighing in relief when I feel the handle, I switch on the flashlight and start shining it around a little bit; noticing the tunnel walls and even some of the ore that's sitting inside some of the walls.

"Is that… coal?" I question aloud, expecting somebody to answer until I remember that I'm all alone down here. I'm truly by myself this time around.

I'll just have to make do, stick it out and try to find someplace safe.

Running my hand along the surface of the wall, I cringe when I see that my hand's all smudged and gross from the coal. Why would people ever want to dig this stuff up? I mean, they couldn't have sent the prisoners down here for money after people started to turn – what would be the point of it? Money doesn't matter anymore!

Wearing my signature frown that I've mastered over the past two years, I adjust the backpack upon my shoulders and leave this place behind; always keeping both ears open for any potential dangers coming my way.

The air in here is thick and difficult to breathe, as the dust, dirt and who knows what else kicks up and spreads across my face. Coughing violently, I hold my arm in front of my face in order to try and block the stuff from getting in, but it only works so well. Dad used to tell me about how Grandpa worked in the mines for years, but I never got to meet him because he got lung disease from being down in places like these so much. I was only a baby when he passed away.

I'm not really sure why that's the first thing that I think of exactly, but maybe it's just a way to get my mind off things. My goodness do I have a lot on my plate right now.

This tunnel seems to stretch on for quite a bit, as there doesn't seem to be any signs of it ending anytime soon. My stomach growls as I walk forward, reminding me that I haven't eaten in quite some time. But what can I do? The food that they actually _did _give to me has to last for… well, however long that I've got left. I need to find a place that's suitable for me to stay in; whether it's long term or just for a little while, I don't really care. Just as long as it's safe and secure.

That's all that matters anymore – just to stay alive.

I didn't come all this way, promise dozens of people that I'd take care of myself, fight for so long and endure so much just to give up and call it quits. I know that I'm just a kid, and I know that I shouldn't have to grow up in a world like this. But times have been tough for everybody, and there's no sense in waiting around for death to come get me.

People might be crazy, untrustworthy pieces of garbage, but I'm not going to turn out like them. I can take care of myself, just like I told the cabin group the first day that I met them.

_Haven't you ever wondered what it's like to live your own life?_

Shaking her words out of my head, I frown and continue on through this seemingly endless route. Wasn't there some saying about finding a light at the end of the tunnel or something like that? I'm pretty sure that should apply here, right?

I mean, I can't just be stuck down here like a mole forever!

…

I need some air – like, real, outdoorsy, fresh and ground level air. That's all that I'd like, and it's a pretty reasonable request, isn't it?

I've been down here for what's felt like over an hour, although I can't ever be exactly sure of the time anymore. For all I know, it could be nighttime outside and I'd have no idea. It's not as if there are any windows built into the ground or anything.

The walkers have been pretty spread out down here, with most of them thankfully having clumped together back where I came from. I've had to kill two of them pretty easily since they were trapped under fallen rocks, but other than that it's been relatively smooth sailing so far.

I've been mulling it over for the past little while… Lilly and Jane. There's a lot for me to be angry about with them, but what's getting angry going to do? Will I win a prize for hating their guts, which I really don't anyways? Will someone come to my aid and take me in after being forced to go out on my own? No, I highly doubt that, and to be honest… I can't allow myself to stay angry at them all the time. Not after everything we went through.

I mean, look what happened with Lilly and I. When she first strolled up to the gate at Howe's Hardware, I immediately told myself that she was a murderer, a thief and definitely wasn't to be trusted. She even warned me herself about that kind of thing.

But then look what happened afterwards – I got to know her a bit better, we helped each other out and started to see each other eye to eye. Sure, we didn't always agree on certain things, but over time we developed a friendship that I never thought would've been possible in a million years.

For me just to toss it all away like that by telling her off… what a slap in the face that must've felt like.

Yes, I feel slightly guilty about all of this even though I still don't understand why they'd abandon me like that. I mean, why would they choose to do that? There had to have been a better reason than just to get rid of me, but I just can't see what it is!

Stifling my feelings for the moment, I mentally groan as I reach a fork in the tunnel. Two separate pathways; two separate destinations. I've literally got no idea where I should be going or what I'm even looking for, but I won't start panicking just yet.

"Think, Clem. You can do this…" I reassure myself, biting my lip until I remember what I've had in my pocket the entire time. Who would've thought that the map Lilly had found would actually come in handy? Shining the flashlight down upon it, I sigh and kick the dirt around with my foot when I realize that the thing's still faded and unable to be read properly in the state that it's in.

_Well, this is just perfect, _I think bitterly to myself, trying to make heads or tails of what it could possibly mean. It's not as if my reading skill's up to snuff considering how old I was when I left school, but thankfully this map seems to be more about pictures and less about sentences. Still though, the whole drawing kind of looks like chicken scratch, and it'd probably take a trained eye and magnifying glass to sort through this mess.

Unless, of course…

Ms. Moore, you're a certifiable genius! Searching around in the backpack some more, I grab a pretty dull pencil, go sit against a wall and start to do something that I haven't gotten a chance to do in two years – draw.

"_It's called a leaf rubbing!" _I told Lee with enthusiasm, smiling as he praised my work. _"I'll make one for you too!"_

Sighing at the thought of that amazing guy, I shake off that sadness and regret as I slowly start to scrape the side of the lead against the map; careful not to smudge out the parts that are already there. I'm a little rusty at this sort of thing, but at least I'm trying. That's all that matters really – as long as I can sort of tell which direction I'm supposed to go, then I should be alright.

It takes me about twenty minutes to finish a good chunk of the map, and I curse under my breath as the pencil breaks when I press down too hard on the surface. However, I've got the gist of it now, so I toss the pencil aside and try to navigate myself through this problem.

Hmm… this doesn't tell me that much, unfortunately. The map covers the entire underground area, so one tiny, little fork in the road isn't going to be labeled very well at all. I do see it, though – just a little bit below the middle of the map.

Wait a minute, _the middle of the map?! _You mean I'm not even halfway out of this rat hole yet?! Damn it! You've got to be kidding me!

Groaning in frustration, I roll my eyes and stand up to the two paths that I can choose. One seems to lead into some kind of subway tunnel, and the other goes deeper into the mines and underground construction areas. Deciding that I've spent more than enough time down in these smelly mine tunnels, I try to remain confident and optimistic (though it's very hard to do) as I bank a right and continue to trek onwards into the darkness.

Getting the jitters after hearing the echoes of creatures lurking about, I wrap my arms around myself to draw from what little comfort I can provide. As disappointed as I am with Lilly and Jane… I sure as hell could use them around right about now. They usually knew what to do in these types of situations; always kept calm and level-headed when times were tough.

And as much as I'd like to believe that I can take care of myself, and that I don't need anyone else… sometimes a grown up can help to make all of the problems go away. Everyone needs a little bit of comfort now and then.

Especially if that person's a twelve year old kid.

However, before venturing any further down the path on the right, I stop myself and widen my eyes as I see some kind of message written on the wall…

…in blood.

Yep, this has actually happened. It feels as though the underground mining tunnels have gotten even colder as I step forward to examine the scene, not bothering to hide my disgust as I gaze upon the red stains.

_NO HOPE, JUST DEATH!_

A shaky sigh escapes my lips as I shake my head in wonder. How could it have gotten _this _bad _this _fast? I can't imagine how desperate they must've felt; how lonely and scared they must have become as they slowly started to lose their minds. It must've been awful trying to live down here, only to get the door slammed and locked on you right after the walkers started to show.

I wonder how long these people all lasted before dying.

The culprit for this mess is leaned up near a barrel of some kind; having a pickaxe lodged right through the top of his skull and into his brain. Both of his hands are chopped off, with the stumps having dried-up blood smattered all over his dead limbs… It makes me gag just thinking about what this all means. His stumps were used like a paint brush to spread his gory message all over the tunnel wall. Did he do this himself, or was there some sick-minded person who forced him to do this?

Whatever the case may be, I hope he was already dead before his hands got chopped off. The pain would be almost unbearable.

"You deserved better…" I apologize, grimacing as I grasp the handle of the pickaxe and yank it upwards; causing bits of rotting brain to stick onto the tool. Wiping it off on the guy's pants and trying to be as respectful as I can (as if that makes a difference anymore), I shudder before placing the object into my backpack. You never know when this might come in handy.

But damn, is this thing ever heavy!

Glancing at the bloody writing on the wall, I hang my head before continuing onwards. The sooner that I can leave this place, the better.

…

"Expr… express tunnel, this way," I read aloud, trying to make out the words as the flashlight lowly dims on the sign above my head. Well, at least I'm heading in the right direction, I think. I mean, what else would they need a sign down here for if this _wasn't _leading to the subway?

My legs are getting pretty sore and stiff from all of this walking, and it doesn't help that I'm still slowly recovering from my injuries before. There is a silver lining to this, though – each passing day I can feel myself becoming slightly stronger than before. Whether it's physically, mentally, hell maybe even _spiritually_, if that makes any sense. I might not have the same hope that I had once had, but I haven't lost my perseverance – I'll fight to the bitter end.

The dirty, decrepit walls of the mines are slowly giving way to less dirty, concrete walls that have holes in them big enough to stick your finger through. Maybe that's just the style of them, I don't know.

What I do know is that I'm definitely not in the coal mine anymore, as I see a broken down elevator a few feet away from me that's basically turned into a big set of stairs. I know it's stupid, but I loved going up and down these things whenever I'd go to the mall with Mom or Dad (usually Mom, since Dad was never into the whole shopping thing). I remember how badly I felt when I was screwing around on it too much one time and ended up knocking an old lady right to the bottom. She went down like a bowling pin, and I couldn't restrain myself from laughing as she tripped and tumbled downwards.

I tried not to laugh! Honest!

Anyways, I climb upwards while holding onto the dust-covered railing; practically forcing myself to move with how tired I'm getting. Each step is a chore – each movement a struggle as I shine my flashlight in front of me.

No walkers yet, anyways, but I've got my gun in my pocket just in case. This place is pretty scary, especially when you're by yourself.

Once I get up to the top, I'm left speechless as I shine the light onto the high ceiling. This place is freaking huge! There are various subway cars that are just left abandoned and starting to rust near the bottom, and one of the cars has even been derailed a little bit to the left of me. There's a rather large hole in the ceiling that allows the rain and the light to shine through, so I turn off the flashlight and decide on saving the batteries for a time that I'll really need it.

A decent-sized pack of walkers wander about mindlessly on the tracks, with some of them caught underneath the train car and others over near the ticket booth. I'm gonna have to take this nice and slowly.

Deciding that my gun will be too noisy for this kind of thing, I lift the pickaxe out of my bag with both hands and tiptoe my way around some of the abandoned subway cars. Maybe if I can get to the surface, then I'll know where I am exactly. It's felt as though I've travelled all across the US, but that's probably just my childlike instincts kicking in right there. I likely haven't even left Texas yet.

But I swear to god, if I somehow crossed back over into Mexico, I'm gonna be so pissed off!

"_Wragghhh…." _the walkers moan; their voices bouncing and echoing off the walls as the rain drowns out my footsteps. So far so good, but like Lilly had reminded me millions of times before, you can't ever be too careful.

God damn it… Lilly and Jane…

I literally can't stop thinking about them, for better or for worse. I hope they didn't get killed… I'd be devastated if that was the case. Even though we fought and argued with each other, we still managed to sleep at night without slitting each other's throats. I'd consider that a plus, at least.

I just wish things could've been different with them. We had a good thing going, but then those jerks had to come and ruin it all! Maybe I'd actually _be something _in their eyes if it hadn't been for that attack. If Kyle hadn't shown up, then maybe we wouldn't keep questioning each other and doubting whether or not we were useful to the group.

But why did we have to go and throw that all away?

Shoving the billions of questions aside, I slowly open the subway car as the door creaks and moans.

Crap.

Knowing fully well that some of the walkers have heard me, I quickly sprint inside and slam the door closed; moving back into the subway car as they start banging on the windows. When one of the walkers pokes its head in through the glass, I take the heavy pickaxe and slam it into the beast's head, which kills it almost instantly. The other dead guys haven't heard the commotion just yet, but my time is getting cut short. I need to act fast.

Hmm… this car is on a slant going downhill, so maybe there's a chance with this. Sliding on my butt down to the back end of the transit, I cling to one of the seats to prevent getting completely squished by the door. Thank goodness walkers are slow! I'm not so sure that this would've gone as smoothly otherwise!

Opening up the back hatch, I breathe heavily as the walkers make their advance. I climb out and climb off the tracks and onto a nearby ledge; almost dropping my weapon of choice in the process. I swing my legs over and playfully stick my tongue out at the walkers as if I've won… but then I hear the scariest sound in a long while.

A loud, ear-piercing groan echoes around me, almost as if the walls are shifting somehow.

"What… the hell?" I mumble, panic coursing through me as I break for an exit sign. Of course though, in typical fashion, the door is jammed and isn't possible to open using my bare hands. So, I take the pickaxe, wedge it in between the doorway and push as hard as I possibly can.

See? I can handle myself pretty good after all!

At least, until the axe snaps in two – that's when I really start to get nervous.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!" I repeat, taking out my gun as a last resort and start to shoot the incoming walkers. Two of them are down, but no doubt has the noise attracted more of these guys.

The roof buckles, shakes and whines again as I run as fast as my tiny legs can carry me. No way am I dying like this – not in some scary-looking subway station where nobody can hear my cries for help! This isn't how it should end! How am I supposed to prove myself if I'm already dead?!

Biting my lip and quivering in fear, I widen my eyes as the walkers from the ticket booth hear my gunshots. The only possible place that I can go to is a janitor's closet with a window on the door, so I quickly sprint towards it and shut the door tightly behind me.

Grinding my teeth together, I place all of my weight behind the door, clench my fists tightly and hope for the best. The only thing that I can hope for now is that the walkers get bored and move on, but that's not likely going to happen. This is going to be a waiting game, and I have a feeling that they're going to win.

After about two minutes of this, the sound comes back, but also something that sounds like thunder and shakes like an earthquake. Looking outside, I can't help but watch in amazement as the roof collapses inwards and the hole gets about twenty times bigger. Cars and vehicles of all shapes and sizes start to fall through like massive, metal raindrops. When the walkers turn around to investigate, they're trampled on by a massive tanker truck that absolutely flattens them. Blood squirts all over the window of the janitor's closet, and I let out a big breath that I didn't know I was holding. A panel knocks loose above my head, but that's the least of my concerns at this point.

You can still hear the crashing and smashing of cars as they connect with the ground, and I honestly can't believe that something like this is happening. You'd think that I was on the set of some action movie or something, but no. This is real life, and that actually just happened. I would've died if I had stayed out there for five more minutes.

To my dismay, there's absolutely no way of getting back out into the station at this point, since that huge truck is blocking my escape. The smell of rotting flesh and diesel creates a horrid combination, and I can't help but slam the door in panic and fear as I realize what this means.

I'm stuck, and there's no getting out. I'm going to die like all of those miners back there.

Quietly and slowly, I sit next to a mop bucket and bring my knees in close to my chest; hugging them as I slowly digest this information. This is it – there's no getting out of this, and there's no chance in hell that anyone will be able to come rescue me. Jane and Lilly are gone, and I'm trapped in here by myself.

Things officially couldn't get any worse, as I bury my face into my knees.

"Oh god…." I sob as my tears stain my faded jeans. I've never felt so helpless before. "Jane… Lilly… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean any of it… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

My inner child seeps out as I continue to cry in the corner – longing for a grown-up to come and make me feel better. I haven't felt this needy since Lee was around, and even then I was able to occupy myself whenever he'd leave.

But now Lilly and Jane are off somewhere, maybe dead or worse while I sit in a freaking closet crying my eyes out. Not such a cool, badass way to kick the bucket now, is it?

As my cries slowly turn to sniffles, I reluctantly lift my head up and place my legs flat on the floor. Once I lean my head back and think that this is a terrible way to go, my eyes focus on the panel that shifted a little bit during the collapse in the station. It seems pretty loose, so maybe there's a chance that I can…

Wasting no time, I gingerly put my bag back on my shoulders and adjust my hat so that it won't fall off. I flip an empty, plastic garbage can upside down and climb on top of it while hoping for the best. It's not a good idea to go messing around with ceilings, but if the alternative is starving to death then I'm willing to take a risk.

Pushing the panel aside, I poke my head up and sneeze as the dust fills my nostrils. There's nothing in here except dirt and grime, but there seems to be some light creeping in through a crack up above me. I lift myself up – carefully as to not collapse the already brittle ceiling – and try to push upwards against the second panel.

No dice with that, so I pull out my pistol and try a different tactic.

Two bullets pierce the mold of the ceiling, and I hear a surprised yelp from up above me. Remembering that walkers can't scream, I lift the cover off as lights blind my vision and I pull myself up.

"Who… who's there?" I call out, rubbing my eyes to get rid of the dust. I cough a few times as I get used to the air.

"DROP YOUR WEAPON!" somebody shouts, and I reluctantly do as they command. I'm at a huge disadvantage right now, so it'd be best just to agree with what they tell me to do. "Put your hands above your head, and don't try anything funny!"

"Deb, she seems harmless to me…"

"She just came out of the fucking ground, James! What am I supposed to think, huh?!" the woman retorts as my eyes finally adjust. There are two people here with some others out in the hallway, but they can't seem to hear what's going on. The woman's kind of short with medium-length blackish- brown hair tied back in a bun, a dark blue t-shirt and cargo pants. The man's a few inches taller with a balding head (in the middle), some scruffy stubble, glasses and wearing a white lab coat of some kind.

The man known as James steps forward towards me with a serious look on his face. I can't really tell if he's friendly or not, but I say nothing as I stare at him with a neutral expression.

"Who are you?" he asks in a calming tone, but I cross my arms over my chest and reveal nothing to him. I've had enough strangers to last for quite some time, thank you very much.

"Well," he scratches his head, seemingly not knowing where to go from here, "if it makes you feel more comfortable, my name's Dr. McCoy. You can just call me James though, if you'd like."

"James, we have to detain her! We can't have people popping into here whenever they feel like it!" Debbie protests, reminding me a whole lot of Rebecca when we first met. It wasn't pretty, I'll tell you that much.

Rolling his eyes, the doctor turns around to his companion and ushers her out the door despite her protests.

"I've got this, don't worry," he encourages, putting on a smile and giving her a quick peck on the lips that slowly shuts her up. I can tell that she still doesn't like the idea. "We'll run a scan and then I'll meet you out in the hangar bay later, okay? Love you too, Deb!"

"You're gonna be the death of me one of these days, I swear…" she mumbles, shaking her head and smirking before heading back out into the hall and yelling at some kids to go about their business.

"She's pretty nice, if you can believe it," James chuckles as he closes the door behind her. I still don't trust this guy, and I have absolutely no idea what's going on here. "Soooo… that was quite the entrance, don't you think? You shot a hole right through the floorboard, ha ha! Ha! Ha… heh…"

Raising an eyebrow, I keep silent as he leans up against a desk with his hands in his pockets.

"Look, you're gonna have to give me something to go on here. How am I supposed to talk to you if you won't say anything?"

"It's Clementine," I tell him flatly, getting a nod from the older man.

"Well… there's a start. Nice to meet you, Clementine," he smiles, but frowning slightly once he studies my face. "Are you feeling alright? No offense, but you look like you've been put through the ringer."

Shrugging my shoulders, I bend down to put my pistol back inside of my bag as James steps away from the desk. Studying me some more, he sighs and walks over to me.

"I'm a doctor here," he tells me, giving me no amount of comfort as he looks at me through the lenses of his glasses. "Why don't you swing by the medical ward with me and we'll have you checked out? Considering where you just came up from, I'd say that you might need it."

After pausing for a few minutes, I continue my reign of silence as I walk out into the hallway; hearing him sigh as I'm almost run over by a couple of laughing kids chasing each other around. I blink my eyes in amazement at how carefree they seem, and James chuckles as he pats my shoulder.

Instinctively I shrug away from him, but he doesn't seem to be fazed as he leads me down the corridor. It seems as though he understands that I'm lost and confused.

"This way," he tells me, and I gape in wonder as he pushes a button on the elevator. This thing actually works?! Once the doors open, he waits for me to enter before closing it back up again.

This is… what the hell is this place?

"Oh, and in case you're wondering," he says, almost reading my mind, "This is where we live. Welcome to the Houston Space Center."


	8. Rough it out

_Jane's POV_

"Burn it," Derek reaffirms, turning towards Henry with a serious expression. "Don't make me repeat myself again, Henry. Grab the gasoline from the bus and burn the whole place to the ground."

"I thought we were gonna take this place over?"

Mulling it over for a few seconds, Derek shakes his head before glancing over to Lilly and I.

"It's not worth having to station someone here when we've got a perfectly fine base over in Dallas," he reasons, placing his hands on his hips as he shoots his people a sharp look. "Besides, we've gotten enough out of this place. Two chicks who could probably shoot twice as good as any of you bastards."

The men chuckle heartily as Lilly sends off an evil glare, but I just let them take jabs at us without even putting up a fight. Sticks and stones, right?

Wrong – Clem more than proved that fact.

God, that couldn't have possibly gone any worse than the way that it had inside. She looked so hurt, betrayed, abandoned… In my mind there was no alternative to this, but… I don't even know anymore. Lilly seems to think that I just gave up and caved to their demands, but she also thought that it would be a good idea to shoot all of them.

That may have worked when we first got here, but the roles had switched this time around. This time they were the lions and we were the sheep.

As I'm forced onto some dirty, old school bus along with Lilly and two other people, I look out the back window and sigh heavily. All of that work to make this place a home – gone in an instant. Our home is up in flames as the wood crackles and burns, leaving nothing in its wake except ashes and smoke. Houston Hills will become nothing more than a distant memory, and there's not a damn thing that I can do about it.

I hope Lilly and Clem can forgive me for this someday.

Lilly, for her part, refuses to look outside. Instead, she glares at the back of the seat in front of her with her legs crossed and her arms folded across her chest; brow fiercely furrowed. Usually, I find it actually pretty funny whenever she gets _really _pissed off. Well, you know, before we hated each other's guts, anyways. She'd always pout her lip frustratingly, and sometimes she'd stutter whenever she got completely annoyed at something. I always found myself drawn to it for some reason…

But right now? No, this is different. There's no joking glimmer in either of our eyes, and I'm pretty sure in Lilly's eyes I have crossed the line. She's a live grenade right now, and I need to defuse it as soon as possible. For both of our sakes.

That time isn't now, though. I'll just give her some space for a little bit. Besides, I've got enough on my mind as it is.

"You sure that was a smart idea?" Henry asks as he climbs into the driver's seat, with Derek occupying the seat closest to him.

"Are you just gonna question everything I do? Yes, it was the right thing to do. I'm not an idiot, Henry."

"Sure fooled me…" I mutter, quietly enough so that nobody can hear me.

Turning the key in the ignition slot, Henry checks his blind spots before venturing out onto the road; the rest of these goons following behind him in trucks. Two of the vehicles have large turrets on the back, and I sigh in acceptance that they probably _would've _ended up killing us. Lilly probably won't see it that way, but it's the truth.

"Well… what about Kyle?" Henry asks pensively, looking over to Derek for an explanation. That didn't make much sense to me either, honestly.

Looking to the back at Lilly and I for a brief moment, Derek shakes his head and turns to the window.

"If that girl's as capable and dangerous as I think she was," he begins, glancing at the passing desert with a calm demeanor, "then Kyle's already dead."

Henry looks over in surprise, and even I'm a little shocked at this information. He wanted Kyle _dead _the whole time?! What the fuck?!

"He was a scared, little shit. We can't have that around here, and the rest of this group would do well to remember that," he comments nonchalantly, cracking his knuckles as he leans over the seat with his hands underneath his chin. "Would you have wanted Kyle to be the one protecting you if one of them lurkers came running?"

Henry says nothing and concentrates on his driving.

"Didn't think so," Derek concludes, saying no more as he sits back in the seat.

I'll admit, I totally didn't expect that. I mean, I knew that Kyle was practically worthless and had a big mouth, but with the negotiations that went on I thought that he'd at least want to keep the kid around.

With the look in Kyle's eyes after he left, though, I'm glad that Derek seems to think he's dead. He better not have hurt Clementine…

"You can rest easy, ladies," Derek calls out to the back, and I slowly raise my glare to his face. "We'll be there in a few hours, and we'll get you all settled in shortly. We need people like you on watch."

"Fuck you."

Chuckling at my short outburst, Derek smirks and shakes his head.

"You'll come to see things my way," he simply replies, steadying himself as we go over a bump in the road. "Soon enough, you'll see what needs to be done to survive."

…

"_Jaaaaannnnnneeeee!" she whines annoyingly, tapping me repeatedly on the shoulder as I sleepily swat her hand away from me. "Get up! You said we could go to the amusement park today!"_

"_I was lying…" I groan, rolling over in my bed and putting the pillow over my face. It's the only way for me to block out the sunlight as she draws the curtains open. "Ugh… god damn it, Jaime! Why do you have to do this every morning?!"_

"'_Cause you're a lazy bum, that's why!" she fires back, ripping the covers off of me as I shoot her the bird. "Come on, we've only got a day left here! Mom and Dad are picking us up at six!"_

_I seriously don't have time for this shit – especially this early in the morning._

"_They're picking _you _up," I remind her slightly bitterly as my thoughts trail to Mom and Dad. "They made it pretty clear that they don't want me around anymore."_

_The tone turns kind of sombre as Jaime frowns in sadness, and I can't help but feel a twinge of guilt as I feel her sit on the edge of the bed. You'd think she'd be used to not having me around the house anymore, what with me being kicked out four years ago now. But when I look at her now, I can still see the little kid that cried at the front door that day; begging our parents to let me back inside with tears in her eyes. I still get shivers just thinking about that._

_Not wanting her to get upset, as this is one of the few times that we actually get to spend with each other, I sigh heavily and lightly smack her on the knee._

"_Alright, I'm up. You're paying for games this time around, though. The last one we tried was a damn rip-off!" I say, chuckling as her cheesy smile returns to her face. "Meet you downstairs in a few?"_

"_Okay," she agrees, seemingly a bit more cheerful as her behaviour changes on the fly. "Don't be slow!"_

"_I'll try not to," I murmur, watching as she sprints out of our crappy motel room and accidentally slams the door behind her in excitement. Once she's gone, I collapse back on the bed for a brief moment and breathe out through my nose. That girl is a handful._

_**Five hours later…**_

"_Jane?! What… what's happening?!" Jaime asks in fright, totally confused as I hurriedly drag her by the hand out towards my piece of shit car. "Where are we going?!"_

"_Anywhere but here!" I quickly reply, pulling out my keys and unlocking the front doors for the both of us. "Just get in! Quickly, they're coming this way!"_

_As soon as she sits down, I lock the car doors, start the car and drive off without waiting for my sister to put her seat belt on. Those things are literally EVERYWHERE, and I'm not sticking around to wait for them. _

"_Fuck… looks like everyone else got the same idea," I comment, turning the wheel around so that we don't get stuck in the traffic jam as hundreds of others urgently exit the park. The back road is typically reserved for pedestrians, but fuck 'em! I'm getting Jaime out of here, regardless if I'm breaking a stupid rule or not!_

_Applying steady pressure to the gas pedal, I shake my head in shock as I try to wrap my head around what we just witnessed. We stood in the damn cotton candy line for twenty minutes since Jaime just _had _to have one, only to witness the guy making it get devoured by some monster coming up behind him. The guy couldn't have been out of his late teens, and he couldn't even utter a sound as this gross-looking creature came out of nowhere and ripped his neck open. _

_I felt sick to my stomach, but Jaime was completely horrified. I wish she didn't have to see that…_

"_I'm taking you back home," I inform her, not bothering to stop as a couple people beg for me to take them with me. "I'll drop you off and then head back to my place. You can call Mom and Dad from the house and let 'em know we're fine. Don't worry – whatever this is, I'm sure it'll be…"_

_Slowly, I release my foot off the gas pedal and widen my eyes as Jaime screams in horror and disbelief. That one scream right there will go on to haunt my nightmares for years to come, but I can't tear my gaze away to comfort the poor kid. _

_Mom's getting torn apart by Dad as he sticks pieces of flesh and organs into his mouth; only turning around when he hears Jaime's shrieks and sobs. As much as I hated living with them before, and the fact that I really didn't have any love for them at that point, I still can't stop some tears from prickling at my eyes. My voice gets caught in my throat as Dad stumbles his way over to us; clawing at Jaime's window as she hyperventilates in the front seat._

_Not being able to handle any more of this, I slam my foot on the gas and drive away; knocking Dad over in the process as Jaime loudly sobs in the front seat._

That's what I've been thinking about for nearly the entire trip – that, and also about Clementine. But that damn scene keeps repeating itself in my brain over and over again, almost as if it's taunting me and saying how I should've been a better sister to her afterwards. How I failed Jaime by letting her grief swallow her whole, and watching as the once happy kid slowly turned into a self-pitying, incapable mess that wanted nothing more than for me to let her die.

And I did – I may have just done the same thing with Clem.

"Jane," Lilly nudges me, bringing me back to reality, "we've stopped. Might as well get off the bus."

"Where are we?" I question, standing up to stretch out my body as Lilly shrugs her shoulders.

"Dunno," she replies devoid of any emotion, "you should, though. You're the one that agreed with him."

"Lilly… please don't do this. I don't want to lose you, too."

"Yeah?" she responds, garnering her flare back as roughly shoves me aside. "Maybe you should've thought of that before sending Clem to her death!"

After she spits her ball of fire at me, I sadly trudge along after her and step out into the cool, Texan air. It's really dark out right now, but this camp is lit up thanks to the numerous torch stands spread out around here. It's almost as if these people moved back to medieval times with some of the stuff they have around. Horses, stables… hell, the wooden building up on the hill even resembles a castle if you look at it the right way.

The various patrol guards with rifles in their hands gives it away, though.

"Joseph, Casey and Kate, you're on watch for now," Derek orders, with the three nodding diligently as they walk off to their positions. "The rest of you… get some rest or do whatever the fuck you feel like. It's game night, if you're into that sort of thing. Just keep the noise down, and don't kill each other. That goes double for you, Henry!"

"Hmph… Pat's lucky that all he got was a broken nose!"

"See that it stays at just a broken nose," Derek tells him, smirking as he watches his second in command go off. He then turns to us with a serious expression. "You're under my roof now, ladies, which means that you're under my rules. No assaults, no murders of your fellow occupants, get it? I know how trigger-happy you people like to be."

"Doesn't mean much coming from you," Lilly spits, glaring daggers at Derek as he casually strolls up towards her. In an instant, my protective instincts kick in and I step in front of her; not wanting Lilly to get hurt already. If this guy wants a piece of her, then he'll have to go through me beforehand.

Unfortunately, that's just what he does.

The fucker knees me hard in the stomach as I keel over in pain, with Lilly coming to my side as Derek watches the exchange with distaste.

"I'll tell you this once and only once," he states, folding his arms across his chest as he impatiently waits for me to stand. "First thing you'll learn around here is about respect. Those who _deserve _respect, _earn _respect. Right now, you two are the lowest of the low – people are gonna treat you like shit until you can prove yourselves. They'll squash you like bugs beneath their boots, and you'll take it because that's what you deserve right now."

There's going to be one hell of a bruise in my abdomen tomorrow morning, but it's not nearly as bad as my bruised ego at the moment. My pride just took a nose dive.

"You two aren't soft, I know that. But we've all taken shit to get this far," he continues, looking over at me. "You're lives are in your own hands around here – I can't and won't be held responsible for your safety. Just keep your eyes forward and your mouths shut, and you'll do fine around here. Work your way up, and the people will treat you as their own."

"When this place falls…" I wheeze, slowly catching my breath, "I'm gonna make sure… you're the first to die…"

Instead of looking pissed off or threatened as I thought he would, Derek actually looks slightly impressed.

"A real ballsy move, especially for a newcomer. I knew you two would be welcome additions round here," he praises, before his gaze grows serious again. "But this is a warning – you don't mouth me off in my house, ever. Fuck with the wrong person around here, and you may as well tighten the nooses around your own necks. Understand?"

When neither of us say anything, Derek nods and motions for us to follow him down the path that Henry had gone down earlier. We're met with jeers, thrown rocks and insults that come our way, but Lilly and I try our best to endure as we follow along like a pair of fucking dogs. Lilly's got her fists clenched and seems extremely tense, but I slowly walk up to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't…" I whisper, shaking my head as I lean over to talk to her. "It's not worth it. Don't let them win."

"We're gonna kill them all, Jane."

"In time," I agree, catching a shoe that's thrown my way and tossing it right in the groin of the man who threw it. The rest of the camp chuckles as we continue onwards. "We just need to pick our spots."

Derek leads us to a decently-sized, wooden building where the obnoxious sound of chatter can be heard. Opening the doors, the crowd quiets down a little bit, but they continue with on with their activities as Lilly and I wait patiently by the door.

"_You want a bullet in your gut, don't ya?!" _one of the morons slur, rage painted on his face as he stands up with his fists clenched. _"I've got half a mind to slit your throat for even walkin' back in here!"_

"_Who the fuck do you think you're speaking to, bitch?! Sit down before I put you down!"_

"Idiots…" Derek mumbles, shaking his head as a small crowd forms around their table, probably wondering what all the fuss is about. "I give them a night each week to relax and let off some steam, and _this _is what happens. Every fucking time…"

Henry glares sharply at me as he notices us, but turns his attention back to the dumbasses with a wicked idea.

To Lilly and I, these people's days are numbered with the way that they act. How they human race wasn't wiped off the face of the planet _before _the apocalypse with people like these still baffles me.

"You want to settle your differences?" Henry calls out, garnering some attention as Derek watches on in silence. "Fine, get a game going. You know which one!"

"_RUSSIAN ROULETTE!"_

Quickly tossing the cards off of the table, the entire room erupts with cheers, chants and drunken-induced speech as the two arguers sit across from each other. Henry tosses a revolver into the middle of the table, spins it around and backs up as one of the crazy bastards picks it up with a shaky hand.

"This is your way of surviving out here?" I question, listening as the fit of cheers gets louder when the empty click sounds off. "Real smart."

"It kills off the stupid ones, I guess," Derek shrugs, even though I can tell that he's a bit miffed about the whole thing. Whether it's about somebody dying or just wasting the bullets, I'm not too sure.

I'm about to say something else, but am interrupted as another wave of cheers goes out. It seems that both idiots have managed to make it out of this game alive, and neither of them really look like they want to test their luck some more.

"Who's next?!" a lady yells out, raising a beer and downing it in one sitting. God, I want to go home.

Henry looks over my way before glancing over to Derek to make sure that it's okay.

"You can't be fucking serious…" I complain, watching as Derek calmly motions for me to step forward. Lilly instantly protests.

"You're not putting her in that position! I'll fucking strangle you if you let this happen!"

"You're pretty bull-headed aren't you?" Derek remarks, infuriating Miss Caul before turning back to me. "Remember what I said before we came in here – respect. This might be a good way of showing it."

Letting out a shaky sigh, I nod towards Lilly before squeezing her hand tightly and walking towards the table; trying my best to avoid the eyes of curious bar tenants. This is so fucking stupid that I don't where to even start. What kind of camp allows this kind of shit to go down?! Even fucking _Sandro _didn't allow this behaviour, and he was possibly worse than Carver was!

Steeling my nerves, I plop myself down into the seat and feel myself being pushed up to the table. I try to show no fear on my face, but inside I'm cracking. There's a 50/50 chance of me either living or dying within the next twenty seconds, so luck better be with me.

"Jordan, you're up!" Henry calls out, and I watch as some skinny fucker rubs his hands together and sits across from me. He's pig-headed, looks like a redneck (guess who that reminds me of) and is missing a few teeth here or there. I don't think anybody would miss him.

"You ready to die today, newbie?" he slurs, showing a stupid smile as Henry spins the revolver around in a circle. I gulp when it lands on me first.

Looking behind me, I see that Lilly's got her hand held over her mouth in worry, and Derek's silently leaned up against a wooden pole awaiting for whatever happens next. I nod once towards Lilly with a look of determination, not wanting to lose the woman that I've grown to care for over the past year.

Well, here goes nothing.

Butterflies infiltrate my stomach as I clutch the cold steel of Henry's revolver. Holding it up to my temple, I close my eyes and grind my teeth together as hard as I can.

Clem, if you're out there… I'm sorry.

An Lilly… I want you to know that I…

_Click!_

Slamming the gun down, I breathe out a sigh of relief as I bury my face in my hands; ignoring the pats on the back and shoulder as the game continues.

I'm pretty certain that I just experienced a heart attack.

After about ten seconds of calming myself down, I spread my fingers open so that I can see the other guy through the slits between them. He looks ready to piss himself, and in an effort to seem as if I'm perfectly fine, I fold my arms back across my chest and glare at the man. Your move, asshole.

With a crazed and scared look in his eyes, the man whispers something unintelligible – probably praying or some shit – before bringing the gun up to his own head. The room watches in suspense as he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath… and pulls the trigger.

I'm showered in his blood as the bullet rips through his head and he falls limp against the table.


	9. Space junk

"Alright, we'll just start with a little medical testing," James tells me, instructing me to sit flat on my back on the doctor's bench. He then takes out a little flashlight and switches it on. "Ok… can you keep your eyes open for me?"

It's a struggle against the blinding light, but I manage to as he checks out my eyes in order to _make sure they're focusing properly_, whatever that means. As long as he doesn't drug me or put nasty stuff into my body, then I'll let him make the calls for now.

He then pulls out the classic doctor's tool with the ear plugs and the little circle thingy to listen to your heart – you know, the thing that kids never remember the name of.

"This is a stethoscope," he informs me, reading my confusion like an open book as he places the device over my heart. "I'm just gonna check your vitals; make sure that you're in top form and all that."

After he listens for about ten seconds or so, he smiles lightly and nods his head.

"For the most part, I think you're gonna be just fine," he comments, making me slightly worried as I sit up on the bench. "Wanna have a listen? These things are pretty cool – I used to love listening through the stethoscope as a kid."

I give him a blank stare as he holds the device out to me. No thanks, doc, not interested.

"Huh," he remarks, putting the instrument back into the cupboard, "that's odd. Usually this thing's a hit with the kids…"

"How old do you think I am?" I ask, raising an eyebrow and crossing my arms stubbornly.

Turning back around, James studies me for a moment before making his assumption.

"Well, judging by your looks I'd say around ten. Personality-wise… I'd probably guess that you're at least a teenager."

"I'm twelve."

"Could've fooled me then," James smirks, taking out a clipboard of some kind as well as a pen. "You're remarkably mature for your age. Mind answering a few questions for me? Don't worry, it's nothing too personal. Just some general facts that we need to ask if you're gonna be around us… and, well, if you plan on sticking around for a while. You ready?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I hear James sigh heavily at my reluctance and hesitance to respond to him or his friends. But can you really blame me after coming back from Houston Hills? Hell, I'd have trouble with trusting a sweet, old lady at this point – who knows? Maybe she could be carrying a gun in her purse!

Clearing his throat, James adjusts his glasses before sitting at his desk and starting to write.

"Name… Clementine… age… twelve…" he writes, before turning his gaze towards me. "So, where's home?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"We're gonna be at this for hours if you keep this up," he remarks with a smirk, as I sigh and look down at the floor.

"I used to live in Atlanta," I relent, not wanting to go into too many details just yet about how I got here. "I don't really have a home now, though."

The doctor looks as though he's ready to say something, but he frowns sadly and decides against it when I stare at him blankly. It's probably for the best – condolences don't really mean a whole lot nowadays. Everyone's lost something important to them.

"Do you carry any weapons, and if so, what are they?"

"Two pistols," I remind him, showing the unused gun in the backpack as I place them both on the doctor's bench beside me. Going out there without being able to protect yourself is incredibly stupid.

James eyes my guns wearily, almost as if he's afraid that they'll magically hop off the table and shoot him in the head or something.

Or maybe it's _me _he's afraid of.

"Any family or friends that you have?" he suddenly asks, causing a knot to form in my stomach. Of course _this _is the question he'd ask! "Anyone out there looking for you right now?"

"…no."

"You're telling me that you were out there all by yourself at _twelve years old?_"

Giving him a fierce glare that pretty much tells him to stop prodding, I grip the bench tightly and struggle to retain my anger. Who does this guy think he is, asking me my life story?! What right does he have to know all of this crap?!

"What does it look like to you?" I ask sharply, not wanting to blow up and spill my guts out at a stranger; especially if this is going to be more than a one-time deal. Despite proving that I can handle myself with the best of them, I'm still not so sure – I've got doubts like any reasonable person would.

Not saying anything for a moment, James puts the clipboard down and studies my face for a moment. That's one thing that I've really noticed about this guy – he likes to stop and think before he speaks. I kind of wish more people would do that, instead of just blabbering out something that they'll come to regret later. It'd make things go much more smoothly.

Not that I have anyone left to talk to, really.

"Well, I think that's enough for now. I can tell you're going through quite a bit," he explains himself, standing up and heading for the door. "How's about we have a bit of a tour of the grounds? What do you say?"

Seeing as that I'll really have nothing better to do, and nowhere really to go, I nod and hop off the bench; placing one pistol back in my backpack and the other strapped in my pants pocket. James doesn't seem to like this too much.

"You don't need to carry that around here, you know. Might make folks a little bit uncomfortable – "

"I'm keeping it with me," I inform him, not at all willing to give up my last line of defense. "I need it for protection."

"Protection from what? There's nothing around to hurt you!" he says, leading me back out to the hall as we travel through a set of double doors.

Glancing up at the balding man, I can't tell if he's being serious or not.

"You don't get outside a lot, do you?" I comment snidely, knowing fully well that he probably doesn't appreciate that. "A gun is one of the most important things you've got when you aren't cooped up in here."

"Yeah? And how much safer do you feel now that you're actually in here?" he questions, punching in a code that allows us to travel through.

The room that we've stumbled into smells… mmm, really nice actually. It reminds me of the botanical garden that I went to back in school, and it even _looks _like it, too. The walls are made of see-through glass along with the ceiling, there's plants that decorate all around with random pictures of safari animals painted in various colours. I'll admit, it's pretty nice in here.

A quiet person like me would enjoy sitting in here every once in a while.

"This is our green room," James tells me, sitting on a bench as I explore a little bit by myself. "We keep having to replant every few weeks or so, but we think it's worth keeping around. Helps people relax a lot of the time. I used to come in here on coffee breaks, well, when we actually _had _coffee. Now I just come in here to think."

I make my way over to what I assume was once a fake pond, but the thing is bone dry and has dirt covering some sort of plaque underneath. Curious, I wipe the dirt off with my hand and read what it says.

_You've always had a magic touch – maybe you could help spread some life into this dreary place._

"That was for Heather… my first wife," James explains, walking up beside me as he frowns and places a careful hand on top of the metal plating. "She was a researcher here, once upon a time. Studied as a botanist – a umm, plant person. I met her in her a long time ago… God, it must've been fifteen years or so. She donated a whole lot of money to keep this place running – protested when developers were threatening to clear it for an apartment complex. Heather was one of a kind."

"What happened to her?" I ask gently, not wanting to be insensitive or anything after what he's done for me so far.

The man doesn't answer for a moment, instead brushing a few stray branches off of the plaque and shooing them aside. Once he's satisfied, James lets out a sigh and rubs the bridge of his nose, as if reliving a horrible nightmare.

"Heather was staying late to finish up some report at work, but I had gone home hours beforehand. She finished up and headed out to the parking lot to get in the car… but somebody stopped her first," he recalls sadly, with a twinge of anger thrown in – no doubt from whatever happened next. "Some thug came up to her, probably demanding money or something, I don't know. All that I found out was that… the guy shot her about five times before taking off. Heather died almost instantly, and the cops never found a trace of the killer. I was sitting in the living room waiting for her to come home… it was her god damn birthday, too."

"I'm… sorry," I tell him, contradicting myself about the whole condolences thing, but I want to make at least a decent impression. Besides, by the looks of things he seems like he at least appreciates the attempt. That's what matters – making the right allies is always important.

But I think that I'm starting to understand now why he doesn't like guns laying about.

…..

"Sounds like you guys put a lot of work into this place," I remark, changing topics as we leave to go to the next destination.

"It's something alright. We keep the power running from solar panels up on the roof, and somehow we've managed to keep going strong out here," he mentions, waving and smiling warmly at an elderly couple as they pass by. "It's not always easy to run a place like this…"

_Heard that before…_

"…but we're trying, and we've kept the peace around here for the most part. We do with what we've got, and we've been able to manage," he proudly proclaims, pointing out the cafeteria down below us as we travel through the walkway. It's pretty weird how carefree and relaxed these people all seem, especially with everything going on in the world.

"The important thing is to never give up hope," he elaborates, going into a speech that kind of reminds me of Walter a little bit. "The people here don't need to be scared. They can live a life here, without having to worry about any of those… things… outside. People don't need to live in fear anymore, and despite a few setbacks, life can almost be seen as the way it was before."

I used to think the same thing; that maybe one day things would return to how they used to be, and that this would all blow over and we'd all go back to our daily lives.

How naïve I was, indeed.

"You can't be serious…" I interrupt, causing him to turn around in surprise. "Do you even know what it's like to live out there? Does _anybody _here know?!"

"Clementine, you can't – "

"You don't know what it's like… to have to sleep under a pine tree for days – in the rain and snow and cold. If you don't hunt for food, you don't even eat! Do you have any idea what it's like to go hungry? Do you have a clue what it feels like?!" I ask, getting slightly aggravated at how easy these people seem to have it around here. How is it fair that they get to live in luxury while so many others are dying?

"If you had seen me a week ago, I'd still be in a damn wheelchair! I've been close to dying so many times that I can't even remember anymore! People are dying outside every day! So don't tell me that things are gonna get better, because they're not!"

"Finally, someone speaks some sense!" a voice interrupts, causing us both to look down the walkway. James seems slightly annoyed.

"Bo, now's not the time…"

"Seems like the perfect time to me," he answers matter-of-factly, giving off the impression that these two don't get along that much. Bo walks over to us with a small smirk plastered on his Italian face. "So… you must be the kid who came in through the floor. You practically made ol' James here piss his pants when you fired your gun."

"Is there gonna be a point to this anytime soon, Bo?" James cuts in, glaring at the man as the two of them bicker like children. "Because we could've kept walking instead of standing here listening to you flap your gums. Don't you have better things to do than waste our time?"

Chuckling bitterly, Bo scratches the back of his neck and puffs out his chest; trying to be the dominant _alpha male _or some horse shit. This leader act that they're both trying to show is wearing pretty thin with how stupid they look right now.

"The little lady has it right, you know. James, take one step outside and you'd be dead. I don't think you'd last a day," he boasts, poking the doctor in the chest. "We need kids like you around here – tough and able to handle themselves. You actually might be just what we need…"

"Bo! That's enough!" James puts his foot down, silencing the man as he steps in front of me.

What's he on about, though? _Just what they need? _

"We're counting the days out here, James. It's only gonna be a matter of time – you'd best remember that."

With that, Bo walks off and leaves the two of us alone again, with James exhaustedly running a hand over his head and rubbing his eyes together. It's almost as if he's been emotionally drained just from having one conversation.

But what the hell is going on around here?

"What are you not telling me?" I ask, placing my hands on my hips as he looks at me through the corner of his eye. "There's something going on around here, and I want to know what."

"You don't need to worry about it."

"I'm not staying if I don't know what I'm dealing with."

"Bo just talks a lot more than he should," James lies, obviously making up an excuse that'll satisfy my curiosity. When he sees that I'm not buying it, he lightly groans and walks further down, with me following behind him like a puppy. "It's just… people aren't always going to see things the same way that you do. Bo's got a different perspective, especially on the guns thing. Hmph… you and him seem as though you'd end up getting along like the _best of friends_, so what the hell do I know…"

"You're not answering the question," I remind him, my sassy nature coming through in full force. I practically breathe out sass at this point – Jane used to say that that'd happen as I started becoming a teenager. Seems kind of weird to me, though.

"We've let you into our home, checked you over and didn't restrain you the second that you popped into the building," he lists off his fingers, being cross with me as he stops in front of a large, imposing-looking door. "I'd say that's about as much as we _owe you _entirely."

Deciding to drop the conversation for now, I stay silent and place my hands in my pockets, waiting for him to calm down a little bit. Bo really seemed to rattle his cage up quite a bit, and even though I'm still not sure why or how, it's probably best not to push his buttons. James has been nice to me ever since I got in here, so the least I can do is show him a little bit of respect.

Even though I still don't really trust anyone here…

"Well… I suppose there's _one _thing I can show you," he suddenly blurts out, bending down to my height with a light smirk. "Wanna see something cool?"

Nodding lightly, I wait for James to punch in the passcode and swipe his card into the slot as the door opens. It makes those cool _whooshing _sounds as it opens that you'd hear in some of those sci-fi movies back in the day, and so far the room actually looks pretty futuristic. It's kind of chilly in here, so I roll my sleeves down as James leads us along a metal staircase.

We walk around a little bit with nothing really exciting being shown yet, but just as I'm about to ask what's so special about this place, my jaw practically drops to the floor.

"Holy shit…" I gasp in amazement, staring up at the object with wide eyes.

It's a spaceship. A giant, metal-encased, every kid's dream object come to life, and my god does it ever look cool. Black and white parts give it a smooth texture, and the word "NASA" is printed in bold along the surface. You can see the rockets near the bottom of the spacecraft with various people working down below on the ground floor, and there's a closed hatch on the side – instantly, my brain imagines me in a space suit climbing aboard the ship and preparing myself to launch into space.

"Can I go?" I ask jokingly, causing James to chuckle as we head down the stairs for a closer look. I sure as hell haven't seen anything quite like this before.

"Always wanted to be an astronaut, huh?" he questions, smirking at my newly-discovered enthusiasm. "This is the second launch pad, actually. We had two spaceships here – one we launched about three years ago but… well, it never came back…"

"You mean those people are…?" I question, cutting myself off as he sadly nods his head. That's… wow. I can't imagine getting stuck up on a spaceship for that long, with nobody left on Earth to try and get you home. As cool and absolutely life-changing as it would be to go to space, I bet it'd still get pretty lonely up there.

Once we get to the bottom, I watch as dozens of people quickly scatter about, trying to do… well, whatever it is they're doing. I'm not entirely sure.

There's a whole lot of chatter going on, but I don't really have a clue what it is that they're talking about. Hydraulic fluid? Thrusters? Forces of gravitational pull? What the hell are these people saying? Don't they know how to speak English?

"If you're not going to space, then why are they working on this thing?" I ask, placing a hand on the spaceship and shaking my head in wonder. I still can't believe that this is happening right now.

"It gives them something to do, mostly," James admits, shrugging his shoulders as he opens up the hatch. "But we're also preparing, when the day finally comes that this mess is sorted out with and we can try a space mission again. But… you don't need to worry about that stuff. Wanna have a look inside?"

"Can I?" I ask, excitement bubbling up inside me as I hurriedly enter the spaceship.

It's actually a lot more cramped in here than I thought it would be, what with all of the boxes and such sitting around inside of it. Still, though, it's got plenty of room for me to move around, though I try not to touch anything in case something goes wrong. James chuckles and jokes that they won't send me off to the moon without telling me first, so I climb up a ladder and sit in the driver's seat of the spacecraft.

This is without a doubt the single coolest experience that I've ever had in my entire life. There are dozens of buttons that rest on the control panel, and there's also a small monitor that's showing the workers on the ground floor going about their business. James seems to be talking to Debbie outside, so I'm all alone inside the ship.

Have I ever mentioned how badly I wanted to be an astronaut growing up? It was always a big dream of mine to go up on the next mission to the moon or something, even though Dad once told me that they stopped doing those years ago. Still, even if I was to go up anywhere at all, I think that I'd have achieved my dream.

Well, if I was to become a cop, that'd also be hella cool, too!

"_Holy shit… we… we've got 'em! We've got contact!"_

"_Really?! Are you serious?! Don't screw with us right now, John!"_

"_I'm not kidding! Look!"_

As my gaze looks back to the monitor, it seems as though everyone's stopped what they're doing and gone over to the computer to find out what's going on. I'm still amazed that they've actually got a computer to _work _around here, but that shock is mostly overshadowed by what I'm sitting in right now. This is practically leaving me speechless.

I grasp a space helmet and put it on my head without a second thought; laughing at how freaking big this thing is. In the mirror, I look like one of those bobble heads that you'd see in the stores, but it looks so bad ass at the same time that I don't really want to get rid of it.

Dad would've been bouncing off the walls if he were at a place like this.

"_Clementine!" _I hear James' buzzing voice through the monitor, as I see his face enlarged by the screen. _"Come back down here! You're going to want to see this!"_

Slightly intrigued, I take the helmet off and place it back on the seat with a sigh. I suppose that my time as an astronaut will have to come some other day.

Carefully climbing down the ladder, I get to the bottom and slowly make my way over to where everyone else is standing. James ushers me over to come stand in front of him and his girlfriend, so I scooch my way to the front with puzzlement.

"What's going on?" I ask, wondering what all the fuss is about.

Debbie just points to the screen with her hands on her hips, and what I see completely shocks me to the core. Man, that's been happening a lot lately, hasn't it?

"_Houston… we're… okay up here…"_

"That's the International Space Station…" James breathes out, shaking his head in wonder. "They'd been dark for nearly two years after the power started going out around the world. This… this is a miracle…"

Personally, I don't typically believe in miracles. I've been shaped to believe over the years that everything happens for a reason, and that the only way to change your destiny is if you do it yourself. There's nobody out there watching over you (except your friends), and that you control what happens to you.

But this… this might actually start to change my mind. How they've managed to contact someone up there is… astounding.

"Maybe things aren't so hopeless after all, eh Clementine?" James remarks, and right now I can't really find it within myself to argue.

I mean, how the hell can you explain something like this?

_AN: Hello, faithful readers! Hopefully you're all enjoying this so far, and I'm sorry if the large amount of OCs is kind of throwing you for a loop in this. Don't worry, the story's still about the three main characters from the game. It's just that I want to see where I can take their characters in this, and to do that they need to be enhanced by other characters in the story._

_Please drop a review, as they're always awesome to read ad really help support the story! Thanks for reading and I'll try posting the next chapter soon!_

_ALSO: if you're a Game of Thrones fan, then I highly recommend checking out Telltale's game for it! It's not quite on the same level of awesomeness as TWD game, but it's still worth playing! I thought it was pretty well done :) _


	10. Cupid's chokehold

Leather gloves typically aren't my thing, especially since I've never been one to care about making a fashion statement or anything like that. But out here… trying to not get eaten alive (metaphorically this time) by assholes who look down on us like we're nothing… impressions are everything. If I'm going to make it out here, then I need to look as hardened as possible.

Slipping on the right glove, I flex my bare fingers through them before making a fist and making sure that they fit properly. They're brown biker gloves, but they'll do the trick. I've heard that it also makes it a little bit easier on your hands when you're handling bigger weapons, but I'll have to test that out in order to see if the rumours are true.

I sigh heavily as I struggle to put the left glove on with my thumb and index finger both missing. The pain's long since disappeared, but the effects will be with me until the day I die. This was Sandro's work right here, and I'm only a tiny bit satisfied that I managed to exact some revenge on that grade-A asshole before he got shot in the head. The damage to me is permanent, but luckily it's not the dominant hand.

Zipping up my signature jacket, I strap my rifle across my back and wait for Lilly to finish up with whatever she's doing. We haven't been in the tent long, but I already want to move out. The place is cramped and smells like it hasn't been washed in years.

"You about finished yet?" I call out, hearing some ruffling going on as I wait by the flap of the tent. "We can't be late if we want to get on their good side!"

"They don't _have _a good side! Besides, why should we care?" she answers back, though I still can't see her anywhere. "You know what's gonna end up happening, Jane. No reason to get attached to anyone while we're at it."

"That's not what I… mean…" I cut myself off, finding myself staring wide-eyed in admiration as Lilly shows up in front of me. She's looking sharp with her hair tied back, her usual brown leather jacket dusted off and looking better than ever, and she's got those tight, brown pants on with a grey tank top on underneath the jacket.

_Fuuuuuuccccckkkkk….._

"You clean up nicely, don't you?" I joke, smirking and trying my best to hide the fact that I was staring. She doesn't seem really bothered by it, but Lilly still seems kind of curious.

"How is it any different from before?"

"Come on, Lilly, I was giving you a compliment!" I roll my eyes, lightly patting her on the shoulder and turning to leave. Before I can head on out, however, Lilly grabs my shoulder with a slightly worried expression. "Umm… everything alright?"

"I wanted to ask you that, actually. What they made you do in that bar was fucked up," Lilly remarks, adjusting herself as she brushes a strand of hair out of her face. "I won't let that happen again, alright? That's a promise – we'll look out for each other and watch our backs."

"Y-yeah… umm, for sure, Lilly," I stutter, nodding my head as a small but genuine smile appears on my friend's face. When did she become so caring?

Thinking that that'll be the end of it, I'm thoroughly but pleasantly surprised when Lilly hugs me. Lilly fucking Caul is hugging me – what has the world come to?!

Despite usually finding her to be a cold, heartless bitch at times, she in fact is actually pretty warm; with her arms wrapped tightly around the back of my neck, and her hair tickling the side of my face. I cautiously return it by wrapping my scrawny arms around her waist, but the moment is over before it ever really begins.

Lilly, seemingly realizing what she just did, returns to her usual state and nods at me before heading off down the path; leaving me utterly speechless and filled with butterflies in my stomach. It's not until she's fully disappeared that I let out a big breath and try to figure out what this all means.

God, motherfucking, damn it. I think that I've got feelings for Lilly.

How in the ever-loving fuck could this have possibly happened?! I went from hating her guts, to tolerating her presence, to seeing her as an asset, to becoming a friend, and now _this?! _Did I get dropped on my head and not gotten told about it or something?

I mean… it's Lilly! The brash, angry, cold, regretful, sometimes sweet, kinda hot… SHIT! Oh lord, I find her attractive, too! Along with a bunch of other things, it seems!

This is bad. This is really, really, really, really, really, really, reeeeeeaaaalllllyyyy bad. I can't be attracted to _her! _We're friends; buddies! Friends don't fall for each other, and they sure as hell don't have romantic feelings towards one another, either!

I mean, that's what we are, right? Friends… But maybe… could we be something more?

God, look at me… talking like I'm straight out of one of those cheesy teen vampire movies. Grow the fuck up, Jane! There's no way that she'd be interested in you, so just drop it! The nicest thing she'd do is gun you down after telling her that shit…

Placing my hands in my pocket, I lower my gaze to the floor and kick over a rock as I walk along the path; ignoring the various village idiots as they go about their business. They mostly ignore me, save for the occasional passing comment about getting to my post or calling me fresh meat. You know, the same shit that they've been spewing out of their foamy mouths ever since we arrived the other day.

But back to the matter at hand – what the hell am I going to do about this? I can't keep shoving these feelings down, since I'm pretty sure that I'll implode if I do. However, saying something about it might be just as bad if not worse! There are so many things that could go wrong… but what about all the things that could go right?

I don't know what to do anymore! This is really tough to wrap my head around!

Deciding that for now it'd be best just to get through the day and think things through, I angrily groan and head up to the roof of the information kiosk – that's where these guys have their watch tower located. Lilly's already there, and my breathing gets a little shaky as I approach. But I put on my best brave face and jokingly wave up to her. No use in getting her all freaked out.

"Started without me, did ya?" I comment, climbing up the ladder as I take a seat on a milk crate. "Doesn't surprise me, really. You always were the one who wanted to be on watch."

"Someone had to," she replies, shrugging her shoulders as she glares at Henry walking down below. He doesn't seem to like either of us very much, but he doesn't need to worry – the feeling's definitely mutual. "That prick's been doing the same lap around here for the past five minutes. He's definitely scouting us, Jane – trying to catch us screwing something up so that he can have an excuse to kill us."

"He wouldn't get close even if that were the case. Remember the _no killing _policy?" I remind her, though raising an eyebrow as Henry glances up at us for a moment.

Shaking her head, Lilly closes one eye while looking out the scope of her rifle, which gets me more than a little nervous. She wouldn't seriously consider…

"Calm down, spaz, I'm just looking out ahead," she states, causing me to roll my eyes. Only she would be able to get away with that remark. "But that policy is full of shit – everyone knows that these bastards will turn on each other with the first opportunity they get. You watch, once they don't like what they're seeing, they'll light each other up like the fourth of July."

"And that'll be our opening," I conclude, shifting so that I'm a little bit closer to Lilly. Her smell is damn intoxicating… I mean, no! It's nothing, nothing at all. "We've gotta be ready to move when that time comes."

"Exactly."

_BAM!_

"Whoa! What the fuck are you doing up there?!" Henry demands, his face turning an angry red as he stomps his way over to us. "Are you trying to put everyone on edge?! Quit being such a loose cannon and start acting responsible for a fucking change!"

"I saved your asses from a walker, jackass! It got close to the fence!" Lilly points out, reloading her hunting rifle and standing up. Suddenly, she takes the gun up again, looks through the scope and gasps.

Henry walks off, shaking his head and muttering some colourful language as I try figuring out what the problem is. What's got Lilly so worked up?

"We've got a big group of them," she tells me, placing the gun back down and leaning it against the milk crate. "There's gotta be twenty-five at least out there. This could be our chance!"

"Where are you going?" I question, watching as she expertly slides down the ladder and reaches the bottom. "Lilly, they'll skin us alive if they find out we ditched!"

"That's the point, silly! We're gonna make this place get overrun!"

"You're one crazy lady, you know that?" I sigh, sliding down after her and running over to the main gates. I hope Lilly knows what she's doing.

Little do I know that somebody's been watching our whole exchange with a trained eye nearby.

…

"EVERYONE GRAB A GUN RIGHT NOW!" Derek bellows, watching as some of his people desperately try and hold the gated door back from the walkers. So far, the plan's working out not too terribly. "DO NOT LET THEM IN, YOU HEAR ME?! NOT ONE FUCKING LURKER!"

Lilly's got an arm wrapped around me as I try to poke my head around the corner and see what's happening. We're out of sight, as far as I'm aware, but we've both got our guns out just in case. There's a whole bunch of scenarios that could go sideways.

"That gate's sturdy as hell, but it won't hold at the rate they're going," Lilly points out, getting a devilish smirk that tells me she was up to no good.

"What did you do?"

"I may have _accidentally _loosened the lock when nobody was looking. Oops," she says cheekily, and I can't help but chuckle softly as she says it. If this plan works, then we'll be set to leave this dreary place for good, and maybe I'll finally manage to convince myself to talk to Lilly about some more… _personal _issues.

After that, there's nothing else to do except… trying to find Clementine, I guess. I've got no idea where we'd even begin looking, but I'd say our best bet would be somewhere around the house.

I just hope she's alright.

Henry drives up to the gate in one of those trucks we had seen earlier, as he parks the thing close by and climbs into the back to await firing.

"That might be a problem," I point out, hearing Lilly curse under her breath as she notices it too. "I don't suppose you can somehow magically stop him from firing that, can you?"

"Not unless I know the Force," she remarks sarcastically, clearly having watched too many Star Wars movies as a kid. Lilly looks back and forth between Henry and the rest of the camp; holding her rifle up and slowly trying to make a decision. "I've got the shot, Jane… I could end it right here. I'll kill Derek and Henry, and then you and I could make a break for it – "

Widening my eyes, I tap Lilly urgently on the shoulder as I see a mean-looking woman standing right beside us. She looks to be around my age, with short, bouncy hair coming down to her shoulders and brown eyes. She's got a little bit of makeup on, and it sure as hell accentuates the evil smirk she's got on her face. She's wearing a black leather jacket, dark purple skinny jeans and a white t-shirt with flames on them. She almost reminds me of Lilly a little bit, but if her posture is evidence enough, then she _clearly isn't _on our side.

We're so busted.

"You lot are in quite the pickle, ain't ya?" she states, placing her hands on her hips as she wears an all-too-knowing grin. "I saw y'alls on the balcony, ya know – I know it was you guys who started dis shit. And now you're caught like a rat in a trap."

I'd laugh at how freaking ridiculous she sounds with her thick Boston accent that makes her sound like she's from the 40s, but clearly this woman has the upper hand here.

"What do you want?" I spit, not in the mood for games as Lilly lowers the gun. The walkers at the gate are starting to break through, and Henry's more than ready to start shooting.

"Power, same as anybody," she replies, tilting her head to the side. "But for now, your cooperation'll do. I got nothin' right now, but give it time and I'm sure y'all can make it up to me."

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't shoot you right now?" Lilly growls, turning her gun towards this dangerous-looking girl and aiming it threateningly at her forehead.

"You really want the whole fucking camp on your arse? Can't say that's a smart move, but then again, you twats don't look as though you got a whole lot going on upstairs anyhow," she taunts, resorting me to place a hand on Lilly's arm in order to get her to calm down. "That's a good girl. Now, are you two willin' to play ball with your new pal, Lorna?"

Before I can answer, the three of us turn around to the sound of a walker breaking through the wood in the fence; watching as it claws at a terrified young man. The boy's shoulder is torn open as the gate collapses on top of him – allowing all of the walkers to start pouring in like a flooded dam.

"OPEN FIRE!" Derek commands, pointing towards Henry as he unleashes a gunfire assault on everything in his way, be it man or monster. The unfortunate survivors who were standing at the gate are slaughtered in a volley of lead, as Henry mercilessly mows them down in order to get at the walkers behind them.

The bullets rip through skin, bone and muscle as blood splatters onto the ground and in the air. This looks like some kind of warzone that we're right in the middle of, but unfortunately (for Lilly and I) it's over before it ever really begins. The walkers are dead, and those that are starting to reanimate are put down by the remaining group. Steam pours out of the mounted turret as Henry steps off the truck; looking as furious as always.

But what really surprises me is how angry _Derek _looks. Usually he's so calm and collected, so to see him like this must mean that it's pretty bad.

"How the fuck did this happen?!" he questions, kicking over a detached head like a soccer ball as it goes flying past some of the survivors. Trying desperately to cool himself down a little bit, Derek takes a few deep breaths and rubs his hands through his hair. "Alright… would anyone like to tell me who's responsible for this tragedy? Would anyone like to step forward? You won't be killed… trust me, I'm a man of my word."

I wearily eye Lorna, who's probably got half a mind to snitch us out and feed us to the dogs if it suits her. I can tell that this girl is the type who doesn't play by the rules – she'll say and do anything to get what she wants.

With a knowing look, Lorna simply walks towards the little circle they've gathered here and watches the exchange. Silently, Lilly and I both agree that it's probably for the best if we come over as well. It'd look mighty suspicious if we were to just disappear altogether.

Thinking nothing of our arrival, Derek simply turns in a circle, looking for anyone who may confess to knowing something about this. Instinctively, I clutch tightly onto Lilly's hand without even thinking about what it is that I'm doing.

But _oh my god! _This is UNREAL! I'm holding Lilly's hand!

Henry immediately looks over at us, scrutinizes us for a few seconds before pointing his fat finger like the little bitch he is.

"They were on watch! It's their fault!" he accuses, causing me to glare at him (but not as dark as Lilly).

"Get real, shit for brains! Lilly shot one of the walkers, and you saw her do it!"

"All I saw was a couple dozen of the dead ones kill our men," he shakes his head, making my trigger finger itching to shoot this guy right in the balls – I'd have no problem doing a Troy Round Two. "And I know for a fact that _you fuckers _were supposed to be on watch! What happened? Did you have to go take a piss or something?!"

"Aww, is the big baby getting upset?" I mock, sporting a fake pout that causes Lilly to quietly snort. "You were scouting us out anyways, asshole! Maybe instead of accusing us of letting them in, you should be getting to work and not skulking around like a pervert! I've seen the way you look at women around here!"

Henry's fists clench up and he takes two pissed off steps forward, but Derek blocks him from advancing any further. Who would've thought that he'd be on _our _side?

"That's enough, Henry. No need to embarrass yourself anymore," he comments, sending Henry away as the big guy punches a wooden support beam in frustration. What an idiot. "Now then, can anyone else confirm this? Are Lilly and Jane not at fault for these killings?"

Lilly and I wait with baited breath as we desperately look around for somebody to back us up. Our hopes are extremely limited, and the odds are really stacked against us this time, since we don't have any real friends here besides ourselves. Despite the folks being slightly impressed at how I handled myself with Russian Roulette the other day, none of them are willing to speak on our behalf.

"It wasn't them."

All eyes (including our own) turn towards the very same woman who was holding a ransom over our heads, and I can't figure out why she of all people would be coming to our rescue. It makes no sense to me.

"And what might your name be, sweetheart? I don't think that I've seen you around here before," Derek acknowledges, cocking an eyebrow at the supposed newcomer. Did she slip into the camp unannounced or something?

"Lorna Faustini."

"…hmm, so you say," he murmurs, scratching his chin before nodding his head. "Well, alright then. Lilly, Jane – you're off the hook. I'm putting my trust in you this time, got it? Don't make me regret doing so."

When neither of us answer him, Derek simply walks away without another word; leaving the rest to dispose of the bodies outside as Lilly and I cautiously approach Lorna.

"What's your game here?" I ask suspiciously, demanding an explanation as she shrugs her shoulders. "You could've buried us alive back there, but you stood up for us. Why?"

"It's all a part of the game, ladies," she answers simply, placing her hands in her pockets as she smirks. "I can be a powerful ally, or a dangerous enemy. If this place was under my control, those walkers wouldn't have even made it fifty yards to the front gate. I could run this camp blindfolded better than this nobody ever could."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Lilly questions, making me think back to Clementine and all the times that she's asked the very same thing.

Strolling away, Lorna peers at us over her shoulder and winks.

"I guess you've gotta roll the dice on that front, don't ya?"

With that, she walks down the path and out of sight; leaving us standing there utterly confused as to what just happened.

"Well…" Lilly sighs, folding her arms across her chest. "That could've gone better, but at least we've gotten rid of some of them."

"Yeah, but now Henry's more pissed off than usual."

"That, we can deal with," Lilly responds with determination, making me feel all giddy inside. She's got the fierce head of a lion on her shoulders – I wonder if that's part of what attracted her to me in the first place?

As we walk back down the path towards our tent, Lilly explains how the next phase of our plot is going to go. Something about sabotaging the vehicles or some shit, I don't know. I'm not really listening at this point, as I'm too distracted by her… everything… to take much notice of what she's telling me.

This is different than Luke, I'm sure of it. With him, the attraction was almost purely physical, and even then I'm not entirely sure that I cared about him as much as I think I did. Sure, I was upset when he died, but with Lilly it's… different. Totally different, and I can't lie and say that it wouldn't kill me if something happened to her. I can't lose her, I won't lose her… I'll make sure to be by her side until the die that I die.

It's now or never.

"Jane?" she calls out to me, breaking me out of my thoughts as I look up into her eyes. "You kinda just stopped. Aren't you coming?"

"Lilly, I…" I stutter, sudden;y feeling as if a massive jar of butterflies just got pumped into my stomach. I'm not generally afraid of anything, but this? This right here is nerve-wracking. "Look… I've been meaning to tell you something for a while now. I kind of have a confession to make."

"Umm… alright," Lilly agrees, stepping towards me as she cocks her head to the side. "Is this about some prank you're pulling in the tent? I hope you haven't filled my pillow with cement or anything!"

"It's-it's not, trust me. It's just that… I've kind of grown… close, to you. And I didn't realize it until now, but… I can't hide it anymore. I've got… feelings… for you… And… and…"

At this point, Lilly's eyes are like giant flying saucers, and she's totally at a loss for words right now.

However, this only grows larger as I fill the gap and kiss her right on the lips.

At first, it feels like fucking magic. Fireworks, cotton candy, the whole shebang. All of that passion seeped into one beautiful moment, and I feel relieved as I feel her kiss me back.

Things are going amazingly – perfectly, even – until it happens.

Lilly, in a state of utter panic, widens her eyes again…

…and smacks me hard against the side of my face.

We stare at each other for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say or what to do. This – this is what I was afraid of all along. That she'll be creeped out by the fact that she got kissed by another girl, and that our friendship will be shattered to the point of almost no repair. She'll never speak to me again, and we'll have to go our separate ways.

I can feel the stinging on my cheek, and no doubt Lilly sees the giant red mark that's appearing where she struck. Seeming to realize what just happened, Lilly wraps her arms around herself and slowly backs up protectively.

"I, uh…" she mumbles, choosing to look upon the ground as she turns tail and sprints back into the tent; leaving me alone as I continue to stare after her in shock.

It's no longer a jar of butterflies in my stomach. Now it's a swarm of killer bees – stinging constantly and letting me know what an utter, colossal idiot I am to ever think that that could've possibly worked.

"Fuck…" I mutter, holding my head in my hand. This couldn't possibly get worse.


	11. Tools of the trade

Sometimes I like my peace and quiet – nobody around to bother me, and I can take some time to think and sort things out in my life. Usually I'd do it whenever I was feeling sad or depressed about somebody dying, but lately it's been for a different reason.

I'm starting to wonder what I'm even doing here. Why am I still at the Houston Space Station? It's not as if I have any real reason to stay – I don't have any real friends here, and it sure seems like they've got things pretty well at hand around this place. If the electricity doesn't prove that, then their plentiful food, water and medical supplies surely do.

I'm sitting alone in the cafeteria, twirling a dry bowl of cereal around as I try to figure out my life. Most of the others have left hours ago to do their own thing, while I've been sitting alone at this table. James asked if I'd like to join him and Debbie to sort through medical equipment, but I politely declined the offer. I still don't think that Debbie's too fond of me being around here, but she at least tolerates my presence.

That's more than I can say for others in the past.

"Thought that I'd find you here," Bo remarks, taking me out of my stupor as he sits on the other end of the table facing towards me. "Had to ask around, but I'm glad to see people didn't lie. You're not easy to track down, you know."

"What do you want?" I ask, not bothering to hide my annoyance that he's talking nonsense. Either tell me what you need, or get out.

Stretching out his back, Bo yawns before placing his hand in his chin and drumming his fingers along the table; not answering me at first as he stares at nothing in particular. What the hell is this guy's problem? Seriously! It's as if he's purposely trying to piss me off!

Huffing in annoyance, I stand up and bring my cereal bowl with me; not wanting to be bothered unless it's absolutely necessary. This guy's just wasting my time.

"You haven't heard me out yet."

"Well, you haven't given me a reason to stay!" I retort, narrowing my eyes at him as he shakes his head in wonder. Angrily, I toss the bowl onto a nearby counter and go storming up to the moron. I slam my hands on the table and loom over him with a glare. "What the hell do you want, Bo?! You've bugged me enough over the last three days!"

"I've wanted to see how much you can endure," he says with a shrug of his shoulders, playing it off like nothing as he too stands up. "It was going well up until this point, I'd say."

"What are you even talking about?!" I demand, exasperated and getting really tired of his constant riddles. "Endure what? Is it your annoying voice, or your constant nagging? Or maybe it's a bit of both!"

"I've got a proposition for you," he interrupts, placing a dirty hand over my mouth that I immediately brush away. "So, do me a favour and stop talking for a moment? You're usually pretty good at doing that, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"This better be good…" I warn, not in the mood for his games as I cross my arms stubbornly. I've got to say, out of everyone that I've met here, Bo has gotta be the strangest out of all of them. James told me that he doesn't often interact with the others or talk very much, but to me it seems as if I can't get him to shut his yapper! I should rip off a piece of duct tape and strap it over his mouth!

If only I actually _had _some duct tape.

"I wasn't lying when I told you that you're what we need around here. You're different, Clementine; a whole lot different from the other kids around here, and definitely different from most of the adults. You've got a fire inside of you, but you've also got the heart," he praises, motioning for me to follow him as he makes his way up the stairs. We end up going back up to the upper walkway, bank a left and head out through the emergency exit. Bo quickly turns the alarm off as we leave.

"Why are we up on the roof?" I question as my hat almost blows away with the wind.

Reaching behind an air vent, Bo pulls out an imposing-looking sniper rifle and slowly walks back over to me. I just stare at him as if he's crazy.

"I need to see you shoot," he states, cutting me off as I'm about to protest. "It won't matter how small you are if your life's on the line. When it comes down to it, you've got to be ready for anything."

"Why are you doing this?" I ask, sighing as we make our way over to the edge of the roof. "I mean… well, I'm not even sure what I mean! Why do you keep saying that I'm better prepared than all of those people?"

"Tell me something, Clementine. How many places have you been to that have lasted out here? I'm not talking for a few months, I'm saying real, long-term stuff," he questions, and he gets his answer as my eyes lower to the ground. Putting a hand upon my shoulder, Bo places the rifle in front of me while being careful not to drop it down three stories to the ground below. "I don't want to see this place fall as much as the next guy, but…"

"They always do… eventually…"

"You know what it's like out there," he nods, pointing to the ruined city as I stare out at various ruined buildings. This place looks like hell compared to the Space Station. "What's gonna happen when the dead come knocking at our door? You think that James and his heart medication are going to stop a herd of walkers from mauling these people to bits? No, that's not how the world works anymore. We can't be idealistic around here, otherwise we're all going to end up dead."

As a demonstration of how to use the rifle, Bo goes slow as he shows me the proper form. Where your elbow is positioned, where to find the most comfortable position for your hands to go, how to look into the scope, everything. As soon as he finishes with the first steps, he turns his head towards me for a moment.

"There aren't any second chances when it comes to this kind of stuff. You need to make every shot count," he instructs as I nod in hesitation. Once he sees that I'm serious, he shuts one eye and looks through the scope again. "Come to Papa, you son of a bitch…"

The shot roars through the sky; racking my ear drums as the buzzing starts to die down. The walker that he was aiming for falls in a bloody heap, as a couple more of its buddies come to see where the party's at.

"They make for good target practice sometimes," Bo comments before handing the gun over to me. I nervously grasp the thing in my arms, but thankfully this isn't the heaviest sniper rifle there is. Honestly, the only differences between this thing and Lilly's old hunting rifle are the weight, the scope and the kick.

_Sigh… _Lilly… Even remembering her name saddens me. I wonder how they're doing, or if they're even still alive?

"Hey, snap out of it. You've got a lethal weapon in your hands," he reminds me, setting me up as I kneel on one knee overlooking the city of Houston. "Just take it easy, alright? You'll have to adjust for the range, so aim the gun a little bit higher when taking out targets from this distance. That's it… Just make sure that you remember to breathe. It's not like in the movies, kid."

"No kidding."

"See where those two lines meet in the middle of your scope? That's your crosshair," Bo informs me as I nod in confirmation. "That's where your bullet's going to travel. Alright, how's about you go for one of the closer ones down there for your first try? Just line it up like I showed you."

Taking a deep breath, I put all of my focus into what I'm doing. The beauty of being up on the roof is that there are hardly any distractions, save for the occasional calling of birds or the wind as it gusts by. Other than that, however, things are perfectly peaceful up here –

Wait a minute… What the hell?!

"That's where I was!" I call out suddenly, ignoring Bo as he rolls his eyes when I put the gun down. I point over to the giant hole in the ground that used to be a road, and I still can't believe that I managed to survive that. "I got trapped by walkers in the subway tunnel, but then all of these cars just came crashing down on top of them!"

"Whoa, hold on a second. You were _inside of that place_?" he asks as his face whitens when I nod. "Oh boy…"

"What is it?"

"That, uh… we kind of were responsible for collapsing the road out there," he admits sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry about that…"

"Are you kidding me?! I almost died in there! Why would you do something like that?!" I demand, disbelief boiling in my veins as he tries to explain himself.

"Well to be fair, we had no idea that anybody was down there. Those tunnels have been abandoned for at least a year now," he justifies himself, although I'm still more than a little bit miffed about the whole thing. "People kept worrying about the walkers crossing the street near our front door, and we've got a map of all the streets and underground passages around Houston, so we decided to do something about it. The road was weak enough as it was, so all it took was a well-placed grenade for the structure to collapse. Now the walkers will have trouble reaching us from that side, see? No problems."

"How about you check to make sure there's nobody down below next time _before _you go blowing things up? I'd appreciate it, thanks," I tell him sarcastically, grabbing the rifle again and setting myself up.

True to Bo's word, there are some walkers that are a bit closer up than the ones that he was firing at. They're just wandering out on the street with no real intention of going anywhere, so they should be pretty easy pickings, right?

Wrong, apparently, as I take my first shot that blows off a walker's leg and alerts his buddies to come out and play.

"Crap…" I mutter, reloading the weapon and aiming again.

"It just takes some getting used to. You'll get the hang of it," he encourages, narrowing his vision as he looks at the one I hit. "Most people don't score a direct hit on their first try, so that's pretty impressive at least."

"It's not the head though," I remind him, realizing that body shots don't matter when you're dealing with walkers. With people it's a different story, but it's best just to always aim for the head regardless.

"No, it's not. Just keep practicing."

…

This goes on for another fifteen minutes or so, with a lot of empty bullet shells and quite a few dead bodies lining the street. I averaged about two shots per walker, which isn't perfect but Bo assured me that he's got more than enough bullets for this thing. Overall for my first day with a sniper rifle, I'd say I didn't do too shabby.

It still needs some work, though, and we both know it.

Still though, I've got some unanswered questions that I really need to ask Bo. There's a whole lot about what he's teaching me this stuff for that I don't fully understand. I mean, sure it's important to know how to use different guns, but why now? And more importantly, why would he bother to teach me of all people?

Deciding that we should break for lunch, Bo comes back with a couple of apples for the two of us, courtesy of the kitchen down on the main level. They're shiny and red, and for some reason they bring me back to our days at the motor-inn when Lee was forced to hand out the food rations. Never before had I been so happy to have food stuffed in my belly.

My _new mentor_, if you could call him that, takes a bite out of his apple as I sit cross-legged beside him.

"About a year and a half ago, I was living in a shack out in Arkansas – me and a couple buddies of mine," he recalls, looking rather saddened about the fact. I'm going to assume they didn't make it. "Wouldn't have even dreamed that a place like this could still actually exist, let alone that they'd be taking in newcomers. My friends and I came down here a few months later, but…"

"But… what?" I ask, wondering why he would cut himself off like that.

Closing his eyes and letting out a large sigh, Bo rubs his face tiredly before taking another bite out of his apple. What could've went wrong? And why does look… bitter about it?

"We weren't exactly the _nicest _people around, let me put it that way. We stole to survive; raided camps when the survivors were asleep and killed people who got in our way. There wasn't any real reason to be doing it other than the fact that we were a bunch of lazy assholes, and I felt like shit for doing it… But then we came here," he cuts off, almost assuming that I would know what this all means. "We were bandits, Clem. Nothing but a bunch of low-life ruffians, but I didn't know what this place could be capable of doing. I hadn't even taken a step before my friends were all gunned down by some marksman they hired up here. I managed to take him out, and the others never suspected a thing about me."

"You… you killed someone to get this spot?" I conclude, widening my eyes as he slowly nods his head. I'm still very confused. "Why would you tell me this?"

"Because I can tell that you've had to do some of the same things," he notices with a stern look. "None of these people have had to do the shit we pulled out there, so nobody would understand. Sometimes if it means your life is in the balance, then you have to do what you can to survive. We can't hesitate when it comes to the hard decisions out here."

Thinking this over for a little bit, I realize that Bo's kind of got a point. Everybody seemed kind of afraid of me when I came in for the first few days, and pretty much shivered the second that they saw I had a gun on me.

It's almost as if they're all living in some kind of delusional world – a world with no weapons or walkers, and where society hadn't changed a bit. They probably think of the Space Station as some kind of refuge from the dangers of the outside world, but if what Bo is implying about their unwillingness to kill walkers is any indication, these people are in trouble.

"James has good intentions, there's no denying that fact. But losing his wife… that hit him hard. He's so traumatized about it that he flat-out refuses to use guns. It's going to be the death of him if he doesn't change," Bo explains, as I start to get the picture of what this all means. "You're the next generation, Clementine. We need people like you at the helm to take charge and lead people to safety. If you can set an example for these people, then you'll end up saving hundreds if not thousands of lives out here."

"But I'm not a leader! I'm a kid! Nobody's going to listen to me!"

"They will if you prove yourself – give it enough time, and they'll come to see you as what you can be. You've got the potential for greatness here, Clem," he elaborates, eyeing the street wearily to check if anything else is popping out. "But also… there's something else about this place that you should probably know."

"Which is?" I ask, wondering just how many secrets this Space Station could be hiding from me. I've got a whole different perspective now than when I first arrived here.

"Well, here's the thing. We… fuck, get down!" he hisses, hiding behind a small sheet of metal as he occasionally looks over. He doesn't look nervous, but you can tell that something's really got him on edge right now.

As I poke my head up, I try to get a glimpse of what's going on out there. They're not walkers, but there are some people out in the street that are scavenging for whatever loot they can find.

"Bandits…" I whisper, looking over at Bo as he nods. "What should we do? Can we take them from here?"

"That's up to you, chief. Make your own choice, and be confident with it," Bo instructs me, as I realize now what he's trying to do. By forcing me to do what I feel is best, he's trying to develop my leadership skills. Whether this is the best time to be doing it is up for debate, but I nod and pick the rifle back up.

Checking to make sure I have enough bullets, I place the strap across my tired shoulders and struggle to hold the thing in place.

"I'll try shooting one of them and see if the rest will scatter," I tell Bo, to which he nods his head in agreement.

"Sounds good. Whenever you're ready."

Three bandits become five bandits… then six… then seven. Seven of these guys are looting the corpses to see if there's anything useful, but it doesn't seem like they're having much success.

Lining up a bearded, beanie-wearing bandit with piercings in his lip, I once again take a deep breath before pulling the trigger.

The effect is almost immediate. The man goes down from a gunshot to the chest, no doubt killing him as his friends pull out their guns and look every which way in a vain attempt to see who's shooting at them. Discouragingly, they haven't all taken off like I thought they would, so I turn towards Bo as he nods.

Shoot 'em again.

I cripple the second bandit by shooting him directly in the hip, but I immediately duck as they point up at us in the crow's nest (that's what Bo's been calling it). Gunshots ding off the roof as I crawl my way to safety, hoping that somehow they didn't just kill Bo in the process. I shriek as a bullet goes whizzing by my head and I duck for cover, but thankfully I've somehow managed to make it to the exit door.

"Downstairs, quickly!" Bo hurries me, appearing near the doorway as he snatches the rifle from my grasp. I pull out my trusty pistol and swiftly follow him downstairs. "You did good up there, kid! Prime shooting! But they're gonna be on our asses any minute now! We can't let them touch our people!"

We take the steps two at a time before rushing past some kids who try to follow us; thinking that this is a game or something. When I shake my head and show them my pistol, they immediately go wide-eyed and run in the opposite direction; probably going to tell on me for shoving a gun in their face.

Great, what are they gonna do? Ground me?

….

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE Y'ALL BASTARDS?! I'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE!" the bandit roars, furiously looking around to avenge his fallen comrades. Looks like I really did it this time…

They may have been able to get inside, but there's _no way _that they're getting out. This is our fault that we're getting put at risk like this for shooting at them in the first place, but bandits mean trouble, and to Bo it was clear that they'd end up trying to break in here anyways.

Speaking of which, he's trying his best to sneak around with a knife in the hopes of catching one of these guys by surprise. It actually kind of amazes me how deadly this guy can be – he hides really well and can quickly become a killing machine if the need arises. Maybe that's from his time spent as a bandit himself, since he probably knows how people like these act, but who knows I guess.

"Well, well! What have we got here?" one of the men say in a cocky voice, grabbing a woman from behind and holding a gun up to her head. "I think you'll make a nice touch to this mission, wouldn't ya say? I'm sure they'd be willing to bargain for ya!"

Inching my way closer, I realize that the woman is actually Debbie, and that James has rushed out of his office to practically beg them to release her.

Meanwhile, Bo has silently slit the throat of a smaller bandit; silencing him and stuffing the body into the closet before anybody notices. He's got to show me how to sneak up on people sometime. As for me, I aim my pistol and try to get a good angle on the man who's dangerously close to killing James' girlfriend.

"Come now, let's talk about this. There's no need for anything rash," James attempts, trying to cool down the situation before it escalates any further.

"You hand this place over on a nice, shiny silver platter, and then MAYBE I'll be willing to listen to reason," he fumes, trying to look as intimidating as possible as two more of his buddies are killed without his knowledge. There's just two of them left now.

I'm hiding behind one of the fallen cabinets that the bandits pushed over earlier, and James looks at me briefly through the corner of his eye. I point one finger up to him, indicating that this'll be over before he even knows it.

I hold the familiar gun in my hands, shoot the bandit holding Debbie right in the head, and come out of hiding as Bo knocks the other one to his knees. He's about to execute the guy so that he can join his followers, but James interrupts the process.

"No! There's no more need for it! He's finished," James shakes his head, motioning for two others to come into the room to subdue him. "Macy, Graham, you know where to take him."

The bandit looks around in fear, probably scared shitless about wherever it is that he's going. Bo says nothing but looks sombre as he places the knife back in his pocket, as James rushes over to Debbie's side.

"Are you alright?" he asks, repeating himself when she doesn't give an answer straight away. When she nods while breathing heavily, James breathes out a sigh of relief. "Thank god… I thought that I'd lost you, Deb."

"You've always been a big, old softie, haven't ya?" she jokes, kissing him on the nose as I awkwardly stand to the side.

Almost as if on cue, James finally notices me and pats me in the shoulder in appreciation.

"Thank you, Clem. That was way too close for comfort," he acknowledges with a smile to which I return. It was nothing, really.

"James…" Bo mutters, gesturing towards me as the whole room goes silent. Debbie's widening her eyes in shock, but the doctor seems to understand what the man is getting at. "I think it's time we let her in. She deserves it after all that, don't you think?"

"…I suppose you're right. We can't exactly keep her in the dark forever on this," James agrees, which just puzzles me even further. What the hell are they talking about now? And why are they saying it all hushed, as if it's some top-secret organization or something along those lines?

Debbie seems to relent after a few seconds, and that's pretty much all the confirmation that they need. Punching a code into the wall, it opens up a door that I had never even noticed before, and the three of them invite me inside.

"This is our inner council, Clementine. We've decided to let you in," James explains, motioning for me to sit in one of the chairs facing a large monitor. This is almost like a board room of some kind. "You might want to sit down for this, Clem. It's going to be a lot to take in."

As a few more people pile into the room and sit in the chairs, the screen comes to life – even though it's got a little bit of static near the bottom of it.

That's not what really intrigues me though, as the first thing that I notice is a symbol of a small bug with wings and a glowing tail popping up on the screen.

What does a firefly have to do with anything?

_AN: And so it begins – Clementine's starting to learn how to become a leader, use new weapons and try new tactics that would make Lee proud (at least, I hope that's the case). _

_If you can figure out what the significance is of that last line in this chapter, then you get an imaginary cookie from me! If it doesn't make sense to you, well… you get a cookie for reading this anyways XD All will be revealed in due time my friends, don't worry! Please drop a review and I'll see you in the next chapter!_

_PS: Yeah, I know you guys like Jilly – don't try lying to me :) Well, you're not the only one – that's all I'll say! _


	12. Boiling point

_Lilly's POV_

Groaning, I stretch my arms up to the sky and let out a big yawn as my eyes adjust to the light coming in through a hole in the tent. Of course they'd give us the crappy fabric for this thing – it could be a few bullet holes, for all I know. The wind from last night coming in through it certainly didn't help my sleep any.

Sometimes I wake up forgetting that I'm living in the apocalypse. The delusion is nice while it lasts, as I look around and almost instinctively smack myself in the head for sleeping in and being late for work. Being a secretary at Warner Robbins was a pretty shitty job, but it paid decently and it was as close to what my Dad wanted for me without actually being in combat. He was always a big military guy, but I had never clued in until I started working there how brutal some of the stories could be – people out on tours getting their arms and legs blown off, blinking for half a second and missing your friend died right in front of you, getting tortured by the enemy as they take you as a POW… I never realized the true horrors of war until I signed up for the air force base. They don't tell you that stuff when the men are off recruiting young kids at the mall and places like that.

Though I suppose it's all pretty irrelevant now, isn't it? Everyone has the same enemies now; each person has to have the same will in order to be able to put down the walkers.

The realization each morning that I'm not going to sit in a fucking office chair that day kind of frightens me a little bit. I won't lie and tell you that it hasn't put me on edge more than once.

"Ugh… man…" I mutter, groggily rubbing my face in order to get some of the sleep out of my eyes. It's not easy trying to rest in these conditions, let me tell you. I don't know how Jane can stand it…

Shit.

Cautiously peering into her _room_, if you could call it that, I sigh as I notice that her bed's empty; tidied up so neatly that you wouldn't have known anyone slept in here the night before. The only thing that she has is her backpack, but there's some weathered photograph sitting on the ground beside it. The thing must've fallen out sometime.

Picking it up, I brush off some of the dirt and dust covering it and grin lightly. This must be Jane and her sister… Jaime, wasn't it? I'm pretty sure that was the name. Jane looks as though she's a teenager in this picture, and I can totally see the resemblance between the two of them. You can definitely tell that they're sisters, that's for sure.

Huh… Jane had short hair even back then.

Not wanting her to know that I was spying on her stuff, I put the photo back beside the bag so that she won't be able to tell the difference. If there's one quality that we both share, it's that Jane and I sure do like our privacy. There are just some things that we need to keep to ourselves.

Like my Mom's ring, for instance – the one that I had selfishly taken from my Dad's corpse after leaving the meat locker.

I should've left it… I should've left the damn thing behind and respected him more, but I was scared and alone. I needed something to keep him close to me; to remind me that he'd always be with me and never let me go, regardless of him dying.

He told me that once, actually. Dad never admitted this to anyone else, but… he was scared. He was getting on in years, and because of how much his heart would crap out on him, Dad was always paranoid about dying. We both knew that it wouldn't last long, not without his heart medication. He certainly wasn't getting any younger, and the pharmacy was bound to run out of the stuff eventually.

To see him go the way that he did, however… that killed me inside. I don't care how much of an ass he could be. Getting a salt lick smashed on his head just made Kenny a million times worse.

As cold and unforgiving as it may sound, I'm eternally grateful that Kenny's dead. I just wish it was _me _who could've been there to do it.

Look at me, talking like I'm some kind of psycho! That's not who I am, not who I wanted to become after taking off in the RV, and it's definitely not what I see myself as. Not anymore, at least.

But I seem to be dodging the real problem at hand, aren't I?

Jane… why does everything in my life have to be so difficult and confusing? I mean, Jane's a good person and deserves some happiness… but what have I done to deserve anything like that? Call me self-pitying if you'd like to, but there's really nothing to hold back now. I've been a shitty person for the better part of my life, so why the hell would she choose _me?!_

And why the hell did I kiss her back?! So… so stupid of me…

This really shouldn't have come as a surprise, but it did. It really and truly shocked me when Jane confessed these things to me. Fucking Clementine could see it, and she was twelve years old. TWELVE! If she were still here with us now, she'd probably smack me right across the face for being so blind… in the same manner that I did to Jane.

I didn't mean to, okay?! It just happened! I got scared, and so I panicked and went with the first defense mechanism that I could think of. It's not as if I beat her down – just a rough smack on the cheek! I bet that happens to people all the time!

WHY DON'T I BELIEVE THE WORDS THAT ARE POURING OUT OF MY BRAIN?! TELL ME!

Ugh, I can't believe this! How am I even still _living _with myself after the way that I reacted? Jane makes a brave (stupid, but brave) move and trusts her gut, and what do I do? I pull a fast one like a cowardly little shit and instantly push her away from me. You want to know the funny part about all of this, though? That's what I do with everybody that I actually care about.

I've done that with nearly everyone I've known. I did it with Dad, Lee, Clem… and now Jane's added onto that list. It's a pretty short list, unfortunately, since most people just brush me off as a complete jackass. They'd be right on some occasions, of course, but… I've got my reasons for doing so.

But what about Jane? That literally came out of left field – she _has feelings for me?! _How long has this been going on for? Have I really not noticed anything different about her all this time? In the way she acts around me or says things? I mean, yeah I told her that we'd protect each other, but this is on a whole other level.

I'd still be more than willing to lay down my life for the woman if it came to it, but how did this transform into… _that? _

So many questions are buzzing around in my mind, but it makes me feel physically sick to my stomach knowing that none of them will be answered. I saw the ship, shot at its sails and watched it burn along the ocean – gone forever. Jane probably hates me by this point, and frankly I can't say that I blame her. Maybe we were both being selfish, but… there's something else.

I didn't stop it at first – the kissing, I mean. If anything I actually furthered it along. Jane made the first move, and then I went deeper. I didn't think of the consequences; didn't really _think _at all in those ten seconds or so. The only time that I actually used my head was after the slap and when I retreated into my room.

Only then did I break down and really question what the hell I've been doing this whole time.

Jane's… complicated, but that only adds to her flavour. She's mysterious, often unsure of herself, and often doesn't like to accept the help of others. She's like me in quite a few ways, but it's all of the things that I'm not that really appeal to me. Jane knows how to push my buttons, but she's also the closest friend that I have left in the entire world.

Maybe that's why I freaked out about it.

Sighing, I sit up off of Jane's bed, and try to ignore the fact that I've just spent the past five minutes or so with my face against her pillow; trying to smell her scent.

I think that I need to talk.

…

You know the feeling you get when you have your whole day planned out ahead of time, and that you spend every waking moment going over every meticulous detail in order to ensure that everything is exactly the way you want it to go? …no? Just me, really? Well, whatever! It's not like it matters much anyways!

I haven't seen Jane all day long, so forgive me if I'm in a bit of a mood this evening.

Not until about an hour into my shift on watch duty was I told that she had been "reassigned" to help work in the armory. I say it like that because I know that's a lie – Jane asked to switch jobs today on purpose, just so that we could avoid each other. I had planned to go into this big ass apology about the way that I had reacted the other day; about how I was wrong and never should've treated her like that. Instead, I've had to live with the guilt for the entire day along with having Henry continuing to watch me like a hawk. Lorna's also around, so it doesn't help that I'm constantly worrying that she's going to blab something.

God damn it, Jane! I've already burned too many bridges, and I sure as hell don't want to burn any more!

When I notice Henry glaring up at me again, I decide to get snarky with him and get on his nerves some more. Because that's what any reasonable, sane person would do!

"You know what the great thing about having a neck is, Henry? It means you can move your head around!" I chirp, resting the hunting rifle in my lap as I prepare to verbally butcher the man. "Why don't you use it and go ogle some of the other girls around here, you dirty pervert!"

"Do you honestly think I'd be looking at you _that way? _Ha! Check the mirror for a change, you dirty whore!"

"Ooh, the big man knows how to speak good! Never would've guessed it, seeing's how you've got your cock plugging your mouth half the time," I reply, smirking as my tactics start to work. His veins are popping out of his head as his temper flares. Trust me, I know how to get people angry.

Oh, and sorry for the language.

Storming his way over to me, I place the rifle beside the chair, lean forward and put on the cheekiest smile that I can manage. This ought to ruffle his feathers up a little bit.

"Go ahead," I encourage, placing both of my hands against my cheeks. "Call me a bitch or whatever other insults you've got in mind for me today. I'm all ears, Henry – I can do this shit for a living!"

"You're all talk, but I know you better than you think. I know what you're capable of," Henry snarls, looking me right in the eyes as his expression darkens to one of pure hatred. "I know you fucked us in the ass when the walkers came strolling in. I know you were behind it, Lilly – you loosened the locks and didn't say a damn thing when you noticed the pack of walkers coming towards us."

"And why exactly are you so sure that it's me?" I question, playing the bluff perfectly as I quirk an eyebrow.

Rolling his eyes, Henry spits on the ground in a disgusting fashion before listing off all of the bad things he thinks that I've done.

"You're killers – you and Jane and the girl. You've killed to get your way to the top, and you hated us the second we came to take back what was rightfully ours."

"Man, would you stop with the whole _honourable _bullshit? You sound like you're from a fucking Disney movie," I complain, trying to goad him further along as he stands there like a statue.

"You wanted to leave, but in order to do so you needed to get rid of us. So you and Jane hatched a plan to do both at the same time, hoping that it's give you the time you needed to escape," he finishes, growing redder by the second as he accuses me of treason against the camp.

I remain silent for a few seconds, trying to hold a straight face until I burst out laughing; trying my best to convince him of how stupid he sounds. The real funny thing of the matter though is that he's totally right, but that's going to be our little secret for the time being.

My acting chops are in tip-top shape today!

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound right now?" I ask, slapping my knee as I chuckle harder. To Henry and anyone else looking at me, I probably seem like a psychopath. "Why would I try to get the whole camp killed? What would be the point of adding a few more dead bodies to the list of millions of others who've already been killed? If you want to accuse me of betrayal and conspiring to kill you fuckers, then you'll have to do a lot better than that, I'm afraid."

"Nobody else would have a motive! I can see right through you, Lilly!" he rages, getting increasingly pissed as he grits his teeth together. "All I want is a confession, and then I'll leave you alone! It's not hard, you know! Just say the magic words, and then we can all just settle our differences."

"Let me explain something to you, Henry," I remark, moving in closer and looking at him with a deathly stare. "If I had wanted to kill you badly enough, then you would already be dead."

Losing his temper, Henry roughly grabs me by the forearm and pulls me off the ledge where I'm sitting; causing me to crash to the dirt as I grunt in pain. This bastard's _so _gonna get it. When I'm through with him, he'll wish that he was never born.

"You really shouldn't have done that…" I murmur, wiping some blood off from my mouth as I spit out dirt. "Like you said – you know who you're dealing with here."

"I'm going to expose you for the fraud that you are, even if have to beat on you to do it!" he remarks, knocking me back over and kicking me hard in the ribs. He does this a couple of times more until I roll over onto my stomach; desperately trying to get away.

I need to get a gun…

Once some of the others start to take notice of what's going on, Henry starts to get a little nervous. He probably knows how bad this would make him seem if people caught him kicking a woman repeatedly, so he hatches another plan. Lorna's leaned up against a pole, once again having seen the whole thing.

The big man pulls out his gun as I stand with my hands up in front of me.

"If this doesn't prove it… nothing will…" Henry mutters to me darkly. Just when I think that he's about to shoot me and dump my lifeless body outside, he does the unthinkable and shoots himself right in the foot.

Henry then chucks the gun right over towards me, trying his best to make me look responsible.

"AGH! FUCKER!" he bellows, attracting all sorts of attention as the camp rushes over to see where the gunshot came from. "THIS BITCH FUCKING SHOT ME! ARGHH!"

"Give me a break, you worthless piece of dog shit!" I argue, kicking the gun back over to him as he clutches his foot like an idiot. "You don't seriously think that anyone believes you! I don't even think _you _believe you!"

"LIAR!" he screams, his fist clenched as he spits verbal murder towards me. "You did this! You're a god damn lying murderer, and you're going to destroy this place! I can see it in your eyes, you crazy bitch! You're an evil, heartless bastard!"

"The only crazy one here is you," I remark, noticing that a large circle has gathered round to see the commotion. Derek's making his way to the front, but I still don't see Jane anywhere.

Damn it…

"You're a liar, Henry! Everyone knows it!" Lorna of all people speaks up, getting a bunch of people to shrug their shoulders and start chatting about what this could mean. "This whole camp knows that you've lost your mind! Why don't you just give up and let the poor girl off the hook? I saw you shoot yourself in the foot."

"You shut your fucking whore mouth, bitch! You don't know nothin'!" he spits as his eyes grow bloodshot with each blood vessel pumping faster and faster. "This woman is lying! Can't you fucking people see?! She and her friend have been playing us for fools the whole time! They're going to murder us all in our sleep!"

"Henry, that's enough…" Derek orders, but the big guy's having none of it this time. His act is starting to fade; his charade becoming transparent for all to see.

Henry knows that he's losing this fight.

"You would trust a lying stranger over me?! YOUR SECOND IN FUCKING COMMAND?!" he yells with indignity, rage painted on his face as almost the entire camp nods. I'm proud but scared of what this could possibly mean. If they find out, then I'm totally dead, and Lorna knows this damn well. She's playing these people in the palm of her hand.

I see her smirk as Derek goes to stand beside her; hand in hand with the leader of this camp. I'm shocked about this, yet not really surprised when I think about it. Lorna's cunning and crafty, and she told us herself that she'll do anything in order to get what she wants.

Even sleeping with the enemy.

"It's over, Henry. The people have spoken – you're finished here," Derek advises, an icy tone etched into his voice that's warning him to stand down. "Pick yourself up, and go home."

That one sentence – just a bunch of words mixed together – sends Henry completely over the edge. Showing absolutely no remorse, Henry, seemingly forgetting about his painful bullet wound, shakily picks the gun back up and turns towards me.

"Then you'll die as a fucking liar," he whispers before the gun goes off.

I go down in a shit-load of pain, clutching the side of my head to try and find an ear that's no longer there. His aim was off so it didn't hit me directly in the head, but this pain is practically unbearable. I pull my hand away for just a moment to find it covered in my own blood.

The other ear is still intact, however, and it doesn't take a hearing aid to know that Henry's been shot down with a bullet to the stomach.

What surprises me most when I look up though is who shot him.

The leader and henry's best friend: Derek.

He bends down on one knee in front of the former second in command with an unreadable expression – probably asking why he would do something like this.

"You ain't a fucking leader… You're a coward, and you're gonna run this place into the ground!" Henry tells him, using the last of his life to tell Derek what an utter failure he thinks he is. "I never should've followed you… You never had what it took, and you killed people that didn't deserve it. I hope somebody looks back on this and laughs when they see that I was right all along…"

Silencing it by shooting him right in the head, Derek stays still for a moment just looking at the corpse of the man whom he once called a friend. There's a little bit of hurt in his eyes, but that hurt's nullified by his need to be a leader for these people. He can't let Henry's words affect him, that much is clear, and he needs to be the better person in these troubling times.

I think that my respect for the guy just went up a little bit.

"He never did learn," Derek comments, placing his gun back in its holster as he looks over at me. "First rule of this camp – don't harm or kill your fellow camp members. We're a family, and families don't hurt one another."

I've stopped trying to listen at this point, not only because of this burning sensation but also because the blood loss is starting to make me feel a little woozy and light-headed. My eyes start drooping a little bit, but I manage to smile before passing out completely.

It shouldn't be a surprise that Jane's the one carrying me over to the medical tent.


	13. The start of something beautiful

_**AN: Yeah, I know I'm cheating here by putting two Jane/Lilly chapters in a row, but I think you guys are gonna like this one :) **_

"…_Mom?"_

"_She's… she's gone, sweetheart. I'm sorry…"_

"_No… no! You're lying to me! QUIT LYING TO ME!"_

"_Lilly Caul, you listen to me right now, young lady!" Dad yelled, his voice shaking as he firmly grasped both of my shoulders. I could tell that he was trying his hardest not to break down in front of the only family he'd had left. "We just… we just need to move on, alright? We need to get a grip on ourselves and live our lives. That's what she would've wanted for you!"_

"_You don't know what she would've wanted… You were hardly ever here…" I sobbed, collapsing against his chest as I try my best to be angry with him. Dad was hardly ever home during my youth; always out in some foreign country that I could never pronounce the name of. It was almost always up to my mom to raise me; to teach me how unfair and hostile the world could be if you let it take advantage of you._

_Never had this been more true than on the day that she died – leukemia, just before her forty-fifth birthday. I was twelve years old._

"_Cauls never quit, remember?" he hushed me, wiping away my tears in an unfamiliar gesture. Something about Larry Caul comforting me… it felt off; almost forced, actually. It was as if he was trying to make up for all the years that he had been away._

_I hadn't needed him before… but I sure as hell wanted him there. _

"_I miss her so much…" I cried, hugging his shoulders tightly as I felt him nod his head. _

"_I know pumpkin… Me too…" he agreed, before driving me away from the hospital back to Macon. "But I promise you, Lilly – I won't leave you again. A soldier needs to know when to return to his home country, and I've… I haven't been around enough. Things will change this time, I swear."_

_That was the longest car ride home that I had ever had._

My eyes flutter open as my body desperately tries to fight off that horrible nightmare. The image of my mother hooked up to all of those insane tubes which I had no idea the purpose of, and my Dad picking up the wedding ring from the side cabinet beside her; speaking sweet nothings into her ear while she slowly sucked away the last of her oxygen… that was the scariest night of my childhood.

I was angry at everyone and everything – where's the justice in losing your mom at twelve years old? How many homes like mine had been broken up because technology wasn't developed enough to fight off diseases like she had?

That night was partly the reason why I still get angry to this day – I grew up in that state of anger and unacceptance. I couldn't just move on like my Dad said. There was no way of it ever happening, not because I couldn't do it, but because I _refused_ to. There was no going back from losing her – she was my lifeline through thick and thin. I clutched to my mother like a young child to their blanket.

The only one that I know who probably could've even come close to understanding is Clementine, but she's a hell of a lot stronger than me. At nine, she witnessed more than anyone else I've ever known, yet when I saw her two years later… it scared me a little bit to see how much she'd changed.

The same frown, the same coldness in the eyes, the same determination to get things done… I was afraid that she was starting to turn into _me_. I didn't want that to happen – I didn't want Clementine to go through the same dark, twisted nightmare of a life that I forced myself into. She deserved better, and I was grateful every fucking day that that didn't seem to happen (at least not as extremely).

Thank god that Jane stepped in to guide her when she did.

"Nice to see you're up," a voice breaks me out of my thoughts; slightly startling me as I didn't notice that she was sitting in a chair beside me. She looks to be getting on in years, and her weathered smile is slightly representing this fact. "Name's Margaret, darling, in case you were wondering. You're… Lilly, correct?"

Nodding my head, I look around and start to take a glimpse at my surroundings. I'm definitely in the medical tent, that's for sure, since there are a few beds placed beside each other along with some basic medical equipment scattered about. Looks as though we're the only two people in here.

"You might be a little woozy standing up for the first hour or so, but it should pass. Your body's just trying to rebalance everything," she informs me, even though I'm still kind of confused. Why am I in here again? I remember fighting with Henry, and then…

Oh no!

Quickly placing my hand up to the side of my head, I feel a thick layer of bandages covering it and I wince as I apply too much pressure onto the wound. This is really happening, then. My ear's almost entirely gone, though for some reason I can still faintly hear out of it.

"Shit… Too bad these things don't grow back," I comment, feeling a lot more self-conscious than I normally do. "Don't suppose you could just superglue it back on, could you?"

"No, I'm afraid. We thought about sewing it back on but that'd probably do even more harm than good. You're just going to have to keep it bandaged up for the time being to let it heal properly," she tells me sadly, which makes my grip on the covers more intense. "I'm sorry, dear."

Sucking in a big intake of air, I shudder as I realize that I'm going to look like a freak for the rest of my life. I'm not that big on appearances myself, but god damn it… this is on a whole other level here!

"Your friend brought you in last night," Margaret explains, resting her hands in her lap. "She came bursting in and started yelling for you to get medical attention – practically demanded that you get the best possible treatment that we could provide. She's got a mouth on her, that one."

"Yeah… Jane would do something like that…" I remark, grinning slightly as I remember her picking me up. How she was able to do so on her own is baffling, seeing's how I'm probably around two inches taller than her, but Jane's a lot stronger than I give her credit for sometimes.

Deciding that it'd be best for me to walk around a little bit, I pull myself up from the bed and swing my legs over to the side; ignoring her offers to help me stand. If I can't stand up on my own, then there's no way that I'll be able to walk on my own – that must be the Caul stubbornness talking right there.

It turns out that walking around isn't the issue, as I can do so just fine. But I've got one major headache and a pulse-pounding pain coming from the right side of my head.

"That asshole did a number on me…" I growl as I balance myself while peering my head out the flaps of the tent. "If that bullet had travelled a bit to the right, I'd be a goner and we wouldn't even be having this conversation."

"You weren't the only one who despised him, you know. We all wanted him dead," Margaret comments, confirming my suspicions that she's definitely not just your stereotypical, sweet old lady. She's as tough and firm as they come. "Everyone except for little Derek, of course. That boy's got a heart of gold, but sometimes it gets him into trouble."

"I find that hard to believe," I disagree, thinking back to when he came for Jane and I at Houston Hills. He certainly didn't seem kind then. "I don't think that a nice guy would be able to shoot another person in the head."

"Well… sometimes even the nice ones have to make hard decisions. It's not easy being in charge of a big group like this."

"Yeah, I know the feeling…" I mutter, reminded of my time at the motor-inn.

She doesn't seem to hear me, and instead Margaret goes on a tear about a bunch of the hardships this camp has had to face. I don't listen to what she has to say, no matter how good her intentions might be. No matter where you go, everyone's got their own problems, and typically these days they're all the same ones anyways. Lack of supplies, running from walkers (or people), trying to survive, blah blah blah. It's not as if I don't appreciate what she's done for me, but honestly, listening to strangers' problems has gotten pretty old. We're all suffering, it doesn't matter where you go.

"…but now with that new Lorna girl at the helm, maybe we can rest a little easier. Certainly can't do a worse job than Henry ever could…"

"Whoa, wait a minute. Back up for a second," I interrupt, facing her with confusion as I make sure if I'm hearing this right. "Lorna? As in, Lorna Faustini? _She's_ got control around here now?!"

"Oh that's right, you weren't awake for the news! Yes, that's the one. Lorna's been appointed as the new second in command," Margaret explains. "Derek still has the final say on most matters, but I'm sure that she'll do a fine job. After all, without her help you probably wouldn't still be here! Wouldn't you say?"

I don't like this – not one bit, and no it's not that I want to take control of the camp. I want to be as far away from a leadership role as possible, as it's way more trouble than it's worth.

But Lorna… she's up to something, I just know it.

I remember her words exactly…

_I can be a powerful ally, or a dangerous enemy._

It's only going to be a matter of time until she's got this entire camp wrapped under her thumb, and I don't think I want to stick around for when that happens. Derek's smitten with this chick, and if he gets too close… I've got a feeling that he'll meet his maker.

That's not my problem, though. Derek can fight his own battles, and if he dies because of it, then that's his own blindness getting in the way. Until it becomes a real problem, he's on his own.

Besides, I've got some other things that I need to take care of right now.

"You take care of yourself, Lilly," Margaret smiles, making me feel slightly guilty for ignoring her earlier question. "If anything changes, just come straight back here! I'll fix you up right quick."

"Thank you," I nod to her, slipping out of the tent and starting my search. She's got to be around here somewhere.

…

This is gonna go so badly, I'm sure of it. Apologizing is difficult enough as it is for me… but now I've got an entirely new problem as well. Jane hasn't noticed me yet, thank god, so I'll just have to be as calm and collected as I can be.

You know, basically everything that I'm not.

Shit! What if she's still enormously pissed at me?! What if I hurt and insulted her so badly that she never wants to talk to me again?! What if the world cracks in half as Jane unleashes her unrelenting rage upon me?!

And what the fuck would Dad say if he found out that I was into another girl? …well, I suppose that doesn't matter at all, but it just popped into my head.

Fuck it. FUCK. IT. I'm gonna go over there, admit that I was wrong, apologize like there's no tomorrow and hope that she doesn't slit my throat before I can say anything. I'm pretty sure that's the best that I can hope for, but hey! At least I can die saying that I tried and made an effort!

Here goes nothing… Oh god, I'm so fucking nervous!

"Umm… hey there, Jane…" I murmur, thinking that she hasn't heard me when she doesn't turn around from digging up a grave for some of the people they lost. So far this isn't a very good start. "Jane?"

Perking her ears up, Jane says nothing as she continues to work, but at least she doesn't look pissed or anything. Maybe a little bit hurt, but that's it.

"I guess that I, uh… I owe you big time for getting me to the medical tent so quickly," I tell her awkwardly, twirling my boot in the dirt like Clementine used to do. "I'm probably not going to hear as well from now on, but that's alright. It was, umm… it was my bad ear anyway!"

Once again, Jane continues to dig as she tosses the dirt to the side.

Sighing heavily, I walk in front of her and watch the woman dig for a few more seconds before clearing my throat. Jane looks up at my face for a second before looking back down at her work.

She's definitely not going to make this easy for me, is she?

"Look, Jane… you know I'm not good at this shit," I admit, frowning slightly and wanting nothing more than to jump into one of the holes that she's created. "And I know that I fucked up huge, but could you please just hear me out? Just for a little bit, and then I promise you can go back to grave digging."

Seeing as how she doesn't have much choice, Jane puts the shovel into the ground and looks over at me; her face expecting me to continue as she wipes her gloves onto her jeans. I've _really _fucked up this time around.

"I'm sorry," I blurt out, lowering my head a little bit in shame. "What you did took guts, and I definitely shouldn't have reacted that way. It's just that… I got scared! I was afraid of what this could mean for us, and what could happen if we were to get together. I like you… a lot, actually… and I'd love for us to be together and all, but… I panicked because I thought that I'd lose you. If I let myself get that close to you, and somehow you got killed, I'd… I'd die! I wouldn't be able to handle losing another person that I care about!"

Jane's eyes soften a little bit, and she seems a little bit more relaxed, but she continues to remain silent. I inwardly groan as I'm forced to continue blurting out my feelings – this sucks!

"But then I realized something afterwards… when I'm with you, I… I can't think straight. As damn cheesy as it sounds, it feels wrong without you in my life. I can't imagine it without you anymore," I confess, growing slightly warm inside as I talk way more than I usually do. "I don't want to lose you… but being around you is driving me nuts and I want to be with you SO badly! I'm sorry that I can be so thick and such an idiot sometimes, but – "

"Lilly."

Silencing myself, I look up into Jane's eyes and instantly my breath gets caught in my throat. I'm seeing this woman in an entirely new light, and it's making me dizzy. If it's that or just me being lightheaded from the wound… who cares? As long as Jane's around, we'll be safe. We'll watch each other's backs.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up," she orders, surprising me as I widen my eyes in shock. "You're talking way too much."

With that, she closes the gap between us, and I happily close my eyes as my entire body melts into a soft, wonderful kiss. It's fucking mind-blowing how this woman can manipulate me so easily by doing so little, but I'm loving every second of it. I deepen the kiss as I wrap a hand around her shoulder; moaning as I feel her fingers glide angelically through my hair.

Holy shit… is this what love is supposed to feel like? Because if it is, then god damn is it ever perfect…

Sadly, we both have to break away for air, but I lean my forehead against hers as I bask in the glory that is Jane. If you want to call me _bi_ now or a _lesbian_, then go right the fuck ahead. I'll be over here enjoying my time with this amazing woman while you figure out the trivialities.

"You don't know… how long I've wanted to tell you that…" I whisper, smirking as she chuckles lightly. "I'm so sorry, Jane."

"Don't – you don't need to apologize to me," she orders, caressing the side of my cheek with her three-fingered hand. "Just… if you're going to slap me, can I at least get a warning next time?"

"Deal," I laugh, giving her a quick peck on the lips as I back up slightly. This is magic, pure and simple. I've never felt this way with anyone else, and I've had my share of boyfriends in the past. None of them mean as much to me as this woman by my side, right here.

However, my paranoia starts to kick in once again, as I think of all of the horrible things that could go wrong. Like I told her before, losing Jane would break me the same as losing Clementine for a second time. I'm not so sure that I could handle another rupture like that.

Instead of repeating myself in that sense, however, I sigh as I lightly graze the bandage wrapped around my head. Jane frowns as I do so.

"How bad did it look? Be honest with me, Jane," I tell her, watching as she bites her lip.

"Most of the cartilage is gone, and there wasn't a whole lot left over," she tells me truthfully, though seemingly not swayed by this. "You're going to pull through this, Lilly. Like you always do."

"I'm not so sure about that this time," I sigh, wanting to just curl up in a ball and hide for a little while. "You sure about this, Jane? Are you sure that you wanna be with a one-eared freak like me?"

Smirking goofily while waving her slightly mutilated hand around, I sigh in contentment as she wraps her arms around my shoulders and plants a soft kiss on my forehead.

"If that's what you think you are," she whispers, causing me to hold on tight to her and never let go, "then we'll be a couple of messed up fucks together."


	14. Outbreak

Glancing as the last couple of stragglers stroll into the board room, I swing my legs back and forth as I patiently wait for them to start this _top-secret meeting. _I wonder what this is all about… maybe they're going to give me some super cool spy gear, with an invisibility suit and night vision goggles and everything! Ooh, maybe I'm going to become some kind of secret agent – they can call me 00Clem! How freaking cool would that be?!

But let's be real here, it's probably just going to be boring grown-up stuff. Man, I just burst my own bubble within a span of about five seconds. I'm such a party pooper sometimes, I swear…

The insect on the screen disappeared almost as quickly as it showed up, and James seems as though he's kind of irritated about it – mostly towards Bo, by the looks of it. What, is he afraid of bugs or something? I think fireflies are pretty cool actually. I remember always getting confused about how they could get their tiny butts to glow in the dark like that, and my parents never really had a solid answer to give me. Those were the good old days: sitting out back in the summer nights to watch them fly around.

I wish that I could do that more often.

"Now, if there are no more distractions," James comments, looking pointedly at Bo as Debbie takes a seat beside me, "then we'll get started. Today we're welcoming a new member into our fold. For those who haven't met her yet, this is Clementine."

A few shocked glances are thrown my way, probably puzzled as to why they let a kid into a place like this in the first place, but their curiosity is forgotten when the doctor continues on to explain what it is that they're doing in here.

"I'll try being as brief as possible so that I'm not wasting all of your time," he says, placing his hands in his pockets as a bunch of eyes turn towards me. "We're a secret department here at the space center, and we've been working on a huge project for the past two years without arousing any suspicion. We've been pretty lucky on that front, that's for certain. And – "

"For crying out loud, James! We could be doing something productive right now instead of listening to you talk to this girl!" a crabby man complains, causing James to sigh as he pushes the rim of his glasses back up onto his nose like a librarian.

"Alright, alright. Go, but just remember – canister 319 is low. We need to conserve as much as we can," he instructs, and I watch as the entire room minus Debbie, Bo, James and I stand up to leave through another doorway. I see some of them put on hazard suits before the door shuts behind them completely.

"What the heck was all that about?" I ask, causing Bo to chuckle slightly as Debbie shakes her head in amusement.

"I'll get to that in a minute," James tells me before bringing up a different screen on the monitor. "As I was saying, this project has been in development for two years now. Some real progress has been made, but there's no telling where our findings are going to go next. We've taken to calling it _Project Rebirth_."

When I look at him as if he's lost his marbles, James looks over hopefully at his girlfriend as she rolls her eyes.

"You can be too scientific for your own good sometimes, you know that?" she tells him playfully. "After the dead started coming back to life, we all locked ourselves into the station and practically barricaded the doors to prevent things from getting in. It was chaos out there – Houston had fallen within the first few days of the outbreak, and anyone that was left out in the city was either dead or soon to be wishing they were. We couldn't believe all the stuff that was going on, and we wanted to do something about it. Our team had a bunch of scientists, doctors and engineers, and we thought that maybe with enough time we could possibly figure out what went wrong."

"They brought in a dead walker from outside to look over its organs and stuff. Turns out this thing's a disease that kills living brain cells and replaces them with dead, savage ones. Think of it as like a fungus that forms on your brain," Bo continues, tapping his head as I think about how creepy that sounds.

"I didn't realize it was so… so…"

"Technical?"

"Yeah, that's it," I nod towards Debbie, just trying to wrap my head around all of this. "So… if this disease is in us right now, then why do we not just turn into walkers straight away? Didn't you say it's in our heads?"

"Yes, but it needs a trigger in order for the potent stuff to be released. When people… die… the infection rapidly grows and takes control. Your body is the host for the infection, and since there's nothing left in your body to fight back when you're dead, it's much easier for the infection to step in," James elaborates, kind of confusing me in some ways with all of this sciency stuff, but I think that I'm getting the basics down at least.

Flipping to the next screen, I scrunch up my face and gag as a disgusting image pops up.

"Eww! What is that thing?!"

"It's the brain of the first walker they brought in here…" Bo remarks, looking slightly disturbed himself as he shudders. "Key word being the first _walker. _Doesn't at all mean that they've stopped there…"

"That's enough, Bo," James warns, shooting him a look that's basically telling him to drop it. "We don't need this – not right now."

"What are you guys talking about?" I question, feeling slightly left in the dark as Debbie and James turn to each other. When the stern lady shakes her head, James stays silent before going on to talk about the image up on the screen

I can tell that they're hiding something from me… but what would they still be keeping secrets for? What do they not want me to find out?

You see, this is what I hate the most about being a kid. It happened when I first got to the cabin, it happened with Lee, and it's happening right now. If the group had just told me about Carver in the first place, then maybe they would've trusted me more and I would've been more prepared and on the lookout if we happened to come across him – which he did anyways, but still. If Lee had told me right from the start that my parents were gone, as cold and heartbreaking as it may have been, maybe I wouldn't have run off like I had in a desperate attempt to find them, and he might still be here with me now.

These guys are holding back something important from me, and I'll be damned if I don't find out exactly what it is that's going on.

James further describes what's going on with the picture – all the black, yucky stuff are dead brain cells apparently, and then the brownish-red ones are the infection spreading and taking control of the body. It's pretty scary the more that I think about it; having something like that waiting inside of me, just waiting for the right time to take over. It makes me feel kind of dirty inside, almost like there's an itch inside of me that I can't scratch.

The weird part is, other than being a lot more malnourished than I was before the apocalypse, I don't really _feel _that different, physically at least. Mentally I've completely changed, but I can't feel this infection in the same way that you might feel after getting the flu. And this thing has been sitting inside me – in all of us – for at least _two years _now?! Ugh… I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it.

"As you can see," James points out, flipping to the next slide as we all can see the same walker lying flat on the floor, "the dead only stop moving around after they've been struck in the head. Once an impact – a bullet, a sharp object, or whatever – ruptures the brain, the infection is cut off from the host and remains dormant. What you get left over is just a shell"

"Sleeping?" I finish, getting a nod from Debbie as she turns towards me. "Wait… so the disease thingy doesn't actually get destroyed?"

"No, it doesn't," she answers, probably surprised that I'm picking up on this stuff at such a young age. I've been around walkers long enough to know how to deal with them – this is just the science behind it. "The infection is a virus, meaning that's it's pretty resistant to a lot of things. You can't just beat a virus out of your system with a baseball bat, which is why we're trying to do our part down here."

"You don't mean…" I cut myself off, severe doubt swirling in my mind as James and Debbie hopefully look towards each other before turning the projector off. Bo doesn't really show any emotion as he quietly sits in his chair.

"We've been trying to come up with a cure for two years now – that's what they're working on inside right now. We're trying to isolate the virus, test on it and see what works. Trial and error, as they say," James informs me, sitting up on a desk with his legs dangling overtop of it. His expression goes a little bit solemn though, as he gazes down at his lap with a small frown. "This whole mess may have been cleared up already… if I hadn't…"

"James, stop it. Don't do that to yourself!" Debbie forcefully tells him as she stands up and sits next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Who knows? We may have just been at the same progress we're at now, even if we did have the toxin with us."

Noticing my curious expression, James heavily sighs before rubbing his eyes together.

"Two years ago, I came into possession of a chemical package that was given to us by the CDC – a nerve toxin that affected the brain. There weren't any known beneficial uses for it at the time, so I didn't think anything of it," he grimaces; regret playing upon his lips as he shakes his head. "As it turns out, that toxin could've been a key ingredient into discovering more about the chemical properties of the infection. It wouldn't outright cure it, but it'd bring us a hell of a lot closer to doing so. I left the package on the spaceship."

"Well, what's the problem? Can't we just go get it?" I ask, confused since the ship is still immobile in the hangar bay.

"No _that _spaceship, I'm afraid…"

Widening my eyes, I look as Bo makes a _whooshing _sound and raises his finger high above his head. I literally don't think there's a worse place that you could send this thing to the damn International Space Station. Outer space is kinda, you know, far. And by the looks of things, nobody down here is willing or able to go and retrieve the package, especially if they're just _assuming _that it might help. It'd be better for them to be absolutely certain, and I don't think that people can be that way anymore. There's just too much going wrong these days.

But what if _they _come down _here_?

"Couldn't they just come back down to Earth with it? You said that you guys made contact, right?" I say, remembering the bubbling excitement there was when they were gathered around the computer screen.

When their faces grow even grimmer, my confusion only increases.

"Did… something happen?"

"Without the help of people on the ground, there's no way that they'd be able to travel back safely. And… apparently they had an incident on board. One of the guys got his throat cut open when he was messing around with a tool, and he'd lost far too much blood for anyone to save him," James tells me. "The crazy thing though? He didn't turn – they didn't have to do a damn thing, except toss his body out into space. Sitting with a dead body on board for two years is never a good thing, but that's beside the point. Those astronauts aren't infected – none of them. They may be the only humans still living that actually aren't."

"Because they left before everything started," I conclude, getting a round of nods from the three of them. Once realization hits me like a wall of bricks, I tiredly rub my head in utter disbelief.

"How ironic is it that there actually are some healthy people left, but they can't do a thing about it?" Bo chuckles mirthlessly, probably having gone over this scenario a hundred times at least. Within the span of fifteen minutes, my head's probably spun around a few dozen times by now.

Ironic indeed. Stupidly, soul-crushingly, frustratingly so, as I wonder how fate could possibly get any crueler than this.

It just makes thinking about this "cure" of theirs seem even more foolish, and I'm pretty sure this feeling shows on my face. James doesn't seem fazed, though.

"This thing is bigger than any of us," he says suddenly, a look of determination inside of him that I find hard to agree with. "A cure would save millions, if that's how many are left, anyways. What we're doing here, Clementine, it could very well give humanity another shot; another chance to do things right and not make the same mistakes again. Society could be returned to normal, and people won't have to be afraid anymore!"

"…no, it won't."

Debbie seems angry, James seems disappointed, and Bo looks like he doesn't really know what to say. He out of any of these guys would understand, but he likely doesn't want to say anything in front of the people he's known for so long.

I know that they took me in when they could've easily shooed me away, but somebody's got to get this through their heads.

"We're too far gone," I continue, not feeling the slightest bit of guilt for my answer. "Why would you be wasting your time working on a cure when you could be helping to barricade this place, or scavenging for food or something? People are assholes out there! We all are – we cheat, steal and kill each other just to live! If there was a cure somebody would've found it by now, and people aren't going to change just because of that!"

"I think it's time for you to leave," Debbie says lowly, but I'm not finished yet. Not by a long shot.

"I saw my parents as _walkers! _They would've eaten me if I hadn't left them! I didn't even get to say goodbye!" I yell, my voice becoming hoarser as James disappears into the room and starts putting on a hazard suit. "Everyone I've ever cared about is GONE! You can't just un-see all of that! Things are never going to go back to the way they used to be, so stop lying to yourselves and wake up!"

"Get out, right now," Debbie finishes, standing up and glaring at me something fierce. "If you can't see the good that we're doing by trying to save people out here, then you're not welcome to stay with us. Bo, take her outside."

"You don't have the authority – "

"NOW, BO!" she roars, startling me for a second as once again my world comes tumbling down. Thankfully I don't really have any friends here, so that part won't be a big deal. But heading back out on my own in the city is definitely not something I want to do. "If she's too selfish to see the greater good, then she's no better than the fucking bandits! Make her leave, or the council will decide what to do with you as well!"

"…you're fucking unbelievable, Deb," Bo spits, turning on his heel as he stomps out and slams the door behind him. Reluctantly I start to follow him out, but not before I hear Debbie whisper one last thing to me.

"We gave you all of this help, and this is how you repay us?"

My grip on the door handle intensifies and my entire body starts to tense up. I can't believe the nerve of this lady! Just because I don't agree with what they're saying doesn't mean that I'm being ungrateful!

Coldly staring back at her, I lower my eyes and fiercely glare at Debbie.

"I hope you people know how to use guns," I tell her, trying to make it seem like a threat as she widens her eyes in anger.

"Why you little – "

"We'll see how much your _cure _protects you when another group of bandits come breaking down your door."

Without another word, I too leave the board room and head back into the space hangar where Bo's sitting with his head in his hands. I don't plan on staying here for very long, probably less than a day if I can help it.

But there's something that I need to find out first.

…

"Clem, you know I can't do that…"

"I have to find out, Bo. They're hiding something, I just know it."

"You don't know what you know!" Bo exclaims, already frustrated with Debbie enough as it is. "Look, if you keep digging around in here, I can't guarantee that you'll like what you find. And if Debbie catches you snooping around, then you'll be out on your ass for sure!"

"I thought that I already was," I respond bitterly, folding my arms across my chest.

"That's not her call to make – Debbie was way out of line," Bo shakes his head. "No, we need you around here, Clementine. I can't protect this place all by myself anymore – I've seen what can happen when people don't know how to defend themselves. Whether they like it or not doesn't matter, but we need you just as much as you need us."

"I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, but for how long?" he asks, running a hand through his hair as he sighs. "Being in a shelter is a hell of a lot safer than out in the open by yourself. They might be a bunch of hippies who wouldn't draw a gun if a walker was standing right in front of them, but they're smart and they've got medical supplies. You don't want to get kicked out just to look at things that you won't want to see…"

Okay, now my curiosity is peaked as high as it can go. If the way that he trailed off just now is any indication, then they're hiding something big; something that they don't want other people to see or hear about.

Bending down in front of the man, I put on my best puppy dog eyes and look straight towards him. Nobody can resist this face, not even Lilly could, so it doesn't take long for Bo to sigh and relent. Satisfied, I walk over to the wall where Bo leads me towards.

"See that up there?" he asks, pointing to a long, metal thing that looks eerily similar to the one I crawled through at the dairy. "It's a ventilation shaft, should lead straight into a viewing platform that overlooks the chemical testing room. The glass is transparent though, so you need to stay out of sight the whole time that you're up there. When you're finished, just climb back out and come straight back."

"Chemical testing?" I question, not really sure of the concept. "What are they testing on?"

"…go, before somebody sees you," he tells me, hoisting me up to the shaft and through the small hole that leads into it. Thankfully this hasn't worked in a while, so the covering was off on one of the sides in order for me to enter. Unfortunately, though, I'm not quite as small as I once was, and I start breathing a bit heavier as I struggle to squeeze through.

If I get stuck in here, I'm gonna be so pissed off! I've had a bit of claustrophobia ever since the St. John's, and I will not die like that, no sir!

I try my best to be quiet, but the damn ventilation shaft clanks and thuds as I crawl forward. If anybody's listening in, then I'm so dead. Hopefully Bo's covering for me back downstairs.

Almost cutting myself on an exposed screw, I loosen them off the cover of the shaft and cringe as the thing almost topples to the ground below. I haven't even gotten to see anything yet, so I don't want to get caught now!

Or ever, for that matter – who knows what Debbie will _really do _if she finds me around here.

I land clumsily on the floor below me, but do as Bo had suggested and hide behind a box before anybody notices me here. I'm about to question why I didn't just use the door behind me instead of crawling around like a baby, but then I remember how that would just lead back into the board room – not the place that I want to go.

"_Everything taken care of, Deb?"_

"_For now at least… I can't believe that little shit! She had no right to say that stuff to you, to any of us! We never should've let her stay with us in the first place…"_

"_She's just a child, Debbie. Having to go through what she has at her age… It doesn't really surprise me that she's lost all hope. Just give her some time, and she'll come around."_

"_We don't need her, James! She made it pretty clear that she thinks this is a stupid idea! What do you think will happen when she finds out – "_

"_She won't."_

"_You don't know that… Besides, I already told her to leave…"_

"_What?! Why the hell would you say that?! You know how impressionable kids can be at her age!"_

Please don't open this door. Please don't open this door! Please, please, _please _don't open this door!

"_What would she have contributed anyways? She's, what, ten years old?!"_

_Twelve_, I mouth silently, scowling at how useless she thinks I am. Would a dumb, useless kid be able to break into here without any of you noticing? I don't think so.

"_Just… god damn it, you know we do these things as a group! What if she dies out there, huh?"_

"…_I didn't enjoy doing it, James. Besides, she could shoot a gun almost as well as Bo could. If she survived out there before, I don't see why she can't now."_

"_Fine… I hope you're right about this, Deb. You usually are but…"_

"_Let's just see how the tests are going, alright honey?"_

"_Yeah… yeah, you're right. Suit up and I'll meet you downstairs."_

As the conversation comes to a close, I finish eavesdropping and carefully sneak up to the big glass window that Bo had said looks over the whole complex.

I wish that I hadn't. Right now, at this very moment, I wish that I had never come here and never ended up at the Houston Space Station at all. Unable to resist the urge to vomit, I spew my guts out onto the floor beside me; thankfully nobody's noticed me or heard any noises coming from my direction.

What has been seen cannot be undone… Dead bodies are thrown carelessly in a pile in the corner, with flies encircling their rotting corpses as they slowly start to decay. The expressions on their faces are all twisted and horror-stricken.

But that's nothing compared to the ones that are still alive.

Remember that bandit that they _spared_? Yeah, he's strapped with leather belts and tied down to a bed while people in hazard suits poke him with needles. An IV tube filled with some kind of green liquid is injected into his left arm, and he can't scream or do anything because they've gagged his mouth with a dirty cloth or something. The disgusting thing is that they've cut open his head so that you can see inside – no joke, I can see his brain from here. He's awake during this entire thing.

You wanna know the worst part about all of this though? There are four more beds. Yeah, four more bandits are strapped down, but their IV bags are almost completely empty and they're just sitting there; looking like vegetables as the drool hangs out of their mouths. Their heads are sewn back up at least, but they've left huge scars where they cut open.

The thrashing bandit makes eye contact with me, and my insides churn as I see the fear in his eyes. He's silently begging me to do something… anything to end this torture for him.

But I can't.

If I shoot now, I'm dead and so is he. The second they hear gunfire, those "people" (if you have the stomach to call them that) will come bursting through the door and tackle me to the ground. Who knows? I could be their next victim strapped to that bed.

Holy shit… is… is that what's going to happen to me?!

I want to run. I want to run so freaking badly that it hurts, but I can't do that. My legs are frozen in paralysis, and no I don't need a wheelchair again. This time it's just in complete shock at what these animals have been doing the whole time. Sure, they're bandits, and they've tried to steal, rape and kill… but nobody deserves this. I'm positive that they wouldn't ever volunteer to have needles and sharp, metal objects get stuck into their body.

"_Clementine…"_

The radio buzzer goes off in the room that I'm standing in, and all at once every single worker in the testing room looks up to where I'm standing. I'm kind of shitting my pants in fear over here, but I stand my ground; looking at James as he in his hazard suit stares up at me.

Keeping a neutral expression, I pull out my pistol, calmly hold it at my side, and walk out the back door.

_AN: Alright, so I'm going to start book three next chapter, which I think is going to be soooo rewarding – not only for you guys, but also for me with how much fun I'm going to have. I've got some BIG things coming up, so stay tuned for that! Thanks for reading, and please drop a review!_

_And hell yes, Jilly has finally occurred :D _


	15. Ashes to ashes

"He's mine."

"You sure about it this time? It didn't go over so well before."

"Just trust me, hon, I've got this," Lorna reassures him, taking out a hatchet and planting a quick kiss on Derek's lips before sneaking up behind a walker near the creek.

Lilly and I roll our eyes as Derek looks on; blissful obliviousness rubbed on his face.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" Lilly whispers to me as she sits against the rock while opening her mouth and sticking her finger in it. "How much do you want to bet that she's sleeping with him just to manipulate the guy into doing what she wants?"

"Yeah, well try telling that to him," I respond blandly, watching as he goes over to praise Lorna after taking the beast down. The two of us are sitting a good few yards away from them, so thankfully we don't have to sit and watch Lorna play around with the guy in the palm of her hand.

We're not being hypocrites, having just come off of getting together ourselves, because our relationship actually _means _something. I'd be willing to put down my life for Lilly, which isn't something that I'd ever normally be willing to do, and I have no doubt that she'd do the same for me. I care too much for her to just toss her aside and break her heart.

Lorna, on the other hand…

One of these days, she's going to make a move against him. Just when he completely, one hundred percent trusts her, that's when Lorna's going to strike Derek down and take over the camp. She practically told us that herself, but the two of us can't just go out and blab this to him openly – then Lorna would blab about us letting the walkers in, and then the whole thing would crumble apart.

"If nobody else will tell him, then it's got to be us," Lilly comments, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as they loot the walker over. "He'll die if we don't do something about it."

"Since when did the plan change to saving his life?"

I'm interrupted by a sharp whistle that catches our attention, as we look down to see that Derek's motioning for us to move up.

"Time to make some magic, I guess," Lilly remarks, picking up her rifle as she self-consciously makes sure that the right side of her head is completely covered up. Despite my reassurances that she looked fine and that nobody would give a rat's ass if her ear was blown off, it pains me to watch as she still doesn't believe it herself. I'll admit, it's nice to know that she's not always the stone-faced, serious, badass that Clem and I often saw – it was actually kind of endearing to know that she's still got her insecurities like the rest of us. But to see it bring her down so much… I'll need to make it a habit of making her damn sure that I'll be there for her, no matter what.

We're out in a tiny forest near main camp in Dallas looking for food and more people to join us, but so far we haven't had too much success. There was a dead fox back the way we came, but the walkers obviously got to it first. I'm hungry, not desperate. That thing barely even looked like a fox after the dead finished with it.

"Looks like we're taking the high ground. See anything yet?" I ask, crouching beside Lilly as we both come to a halt. There's still a bit of a climb until we get to the top, but there's no point in trying to get up there. Better to stick closer to Derek and Lorna.

Squinting her eyes and frowning, Lilly peers out into the distance, trying to find anything that'd be worth our time to chase.

"I think I see a… car?" she mentions, seemingly unsure of herself as I look to where she's pointing. Yep, definitely a car, and if you look closely enough… "Holy shit! It's running?!"

"Could be a trap, Lilly. Who knows what's waiting for us over there?"

"Hey, it's _my job _to be paranoid around here, remember?" she states, smirking as she quickly kisses me on the cheek. "We'll just take it slow, and watch our corners. Make sure nothing's getting the jump on us."

"If you say so…"

Pulling my pistol out in front of me, I follow in behind Lilly as we make our way down the rocky path; occasionally crunching some twigs under our feet as we move on. Every noise makes me cringe as we try this stealthy approach. Lilly's constantly on the lookout, but it still doesn't put me at ease.

What's even creepier is the fact that there's an older man and a young, teenage boy just sitting there in the front seat; idling the car as they flip through some books.

"Stay on my ass, Jane," Lilly tells me as we go up closer. We're still a bit above them, so if worse comes to worse we still have a height advantage.

"Absolutely."

I give her a goofy-looking smile as she turns around; shrugging my shoulders as if I've said nothing wrong.

"I'll stay on your ass all day long, Lilly."

"Are you trying to flirt with me right now?"

"Well, that depends," I acknowledge, whispering so that we can't be detected. These dudes aren't in a hurry – they can wait. "Is it working?"

"There's a time and a place for everything, Jane."

"Hmm… okay, how about right now? This looks like as good a spot as any!" I comment, patting the ground as her face flushes crimson. "Let's see if Lilly, the tiger in combat, is as wild while she's in – "

"Jane!" Lilly interrupts, glowing bright red from embarrassment. Isn't this just so much fun?

"Come on, it's not as if the walkers are going to care…" I purr, leaning my head on her shoulder as I kiss her busted ear. "You're cute when you get flustered, you know that? I'm just fucking with you, Lilly!"

"Yeah, that's the problem…"

"Ha! There ya go!" I chuckle quietly, calming myself down as we try and focus on the task at hand. One of the guys has his arm hanging out the window in boredom while the older man is leaned back in the seat; still completely unaware that we're here. "How do you wanna play this?"

"…these guys are way too close to our camp. Can't be a coincidence…" Lilly muses, reminding me of just how close by we really are. We're supposed to meet back at the front gates in an hour or so, but we'd better deal with these guys first. "I don't like the thought of people skulking around where we live. We've got the high ground on them, so we could potentially just shoot them from here…"

"No – not until we know they're guilty. We don't kill unless we have to."

"What good is that going to do if we walk up to them? They'll shoot us square in our faces!" Lilly argues, but I've got a bit of a plan set in my mind already.

"Here's an idea," I tell her, glancing over the rock one last time to check if they're still in the vehicle. "How about we get the surprise on them? We can ambush them before they draw their guns."

"Whatever you say, Captain Jane."

"No, it's _Queen Jane_, remember?" I smirk, reminded of our time spent at Houston Hills. "All hail the reign of Queen Jane! All of my subjects must swear fealty to their supreme ruler!"

"Hmph, you look more like a princess to me," Lilly tells me, rolling her eyes as she softly gazes upon me with those beautiful, chocolate-coloured eyes. "So if you're the queen, then what does that make me? The king?"

"Hell no, fuck the king! Hmm… nah, you can be the knight riding in on your valiant steed!" I dramatize, having a blast as we continue to distract ourselves from the world around us. I wish that I could do this all the time. "I knight you, Ser Lilly the Brave! May your adventures take you far and wide across the land! Now go and slay some walkers or something."

"You're having way too much fun with this, you know that?"

"I take my kicks when I get them," I tell her flatly, breathing in and out as I set myself up. "Let's do this."

….

The two men sit in the car patiently; neither of them moving as the teen lazily drums his fingers along the side of the car. The older gentleman tiredly rubs his eyes as he flips through another page of his book.

"Fucking hell… how long is this gonna take?" the boy complains, groaning as he leans his head back. "If I had known they were gonna be this long, then I would've brought a bag of Doritos or something! How much time is it to take over a small camp?"

"It's not that small, and your whining's only going to make it worse. So shut the hell up, would you?"

"Whatever, asshole… I don't even know why I bothered to come out with you…"

"Because you were told to, that's why," the old man sighs, shaking his head in exhaustion as he scans the pages again. "Suck it up, Todd. Trust me, you'd rather be stuck in here with me than out there scoping out the camp. Hell of a lot safer where the biters can't get to ya."

"I think that I'd rather be monster chow," Todd replies bitterly, opening up the passenger door and stretching his legs as he starts walking away.

"Where the hell are you going?!"

"Takin' a piss! What, did you want to follow me or something?!" he calls out, holding his arms out at his side as he backs into the woods. "Keep your panties on, nutjob! I'll be back in a few."

"God damn it…" the man huffs, shaking his head as he watches Todd until he's completely disappeared. He slouches in his seat as he squirms and tries to get comfortable; doing so until he's all snug. Once the old man's relaxed enough, he picks up the book again and tries to flip to the page that he remembers.

The man nearly shits himself when Lilly expertly jumps and slams onto the hood of the car; danger in her eyes as she holds her rifle warningly in her hands. The hood dents as a few small cracks appear in the windshield close to where she landed.

"Hands up, out of the car. Now," she commands darkly, holding the rifle out in front of her and aiming it directly at the guy through the windshield. Even with the glass between them, at this distance Lilly can't miss. "Don't make me repeat myself, or I'll have to get my backup to come down too."

"What the fuck… are you talking about?!"

Taking my cue, I jump off the rocky ledge and land on the back of the car; almost losing my balance but maintaining my fierceness as the man is startled once again. Seeing as he has no choice but to surrender, the man does as Lilly tells him and opens the side door with his hands held high.

"No need to get violent now, ladies…"

"No sudden moves, and we won't need to worry about that! Understand?!" Lilly snaps, shoving him forward with the barrel of her weapon as he collapses to his knees. "Now, we're going to wait for your friend to come back, and then you're going to answer some questions. If you cooperate, then maybe I'll forgive you for snooping out our camp around here."

The guy's gotta be in his mid-sixties, with greyish-white hair going down to his shoulders, wrinkly skin and a big, scruffy beard to match.

"Any weapons on you?" I ask, turning off the ignition as I place the keys in my pocket. Conserving the environment, you know?

"We've gotta defend ourselves, don't we?" he answers, looking back towards me. "There's a magnum revolver in the glove box, but that's it."

"You're lying," Lilly accuses, glaring a hole in the man as he frantically shakes his head. "There's no way that you'd come that unprepared. What are you hiding, and where's the rest of your group?"

"That's all that I've got, I swear! There's nothing else in that car except some canned stuff and – "

"These guys are packing a punch!" I interrupt, widening my eyes as I look through the trunk of the vehicle. Underneath a blue tarp is a fully-loaded shotgun, four handguns, an assault rifle and… what the fuck is this?!

As I hop back out beside them with some massive weapon with a big magazine strapped to it, Lilly shakes her head in disbelief, before her expression returns to her angered state.

This guy's gonna get a tongue lashing.

"Mind telling me why you'd need a fucking grenade launcher out in the woods?! What did you want to blow up, a fucking cliff?!" she bellows, scaring off some crows as they flee from their roost in the trees. "But you know what, asshole? I think I've already figured out the answer. You and your friend were going to destroy our camp with this thing!"

"We just have one standing by, in case we ever need it for protection!"

"He's lying, Jane!" my girlfriend snarls, and I can't help but agree with her on this one. There's no reason that anyone would be carrying this much artillery on them unless they were trying to attack. "Look at this shit! They're planning a god damn siege!"

"Well, what do you want us to do?"

"Kneel."

Turning our heads towards the noise, Lilly and I stare wide-eyed at the teen, who's shaking in his boots as Derek holds a gun to his head. Lorna's standing right beside him, looking as manipulative as ever (of course).

When he doesn't react straight away, Lorna steps up and kicks the kid at the back of his knees; falling flat on his face into the mud as the crazed woman presses her foot over his head.

"When he tells you to do something, you damn well listen, understand?!" she barks, making shake my head as I try to ignore Kenny's voice saying those exact same words. I have to keep reminding myself that he's dead now, and he can't hurt anyone else with his reckless abandon.

We've got an entirely new problem to deal with now.

"Come on Lor, that's enough," Derek tells her, as she reluctantly lifts her foot up and grabs the kid's collar roughly; yanking him upwards. She's not a very nice lady. "Looks like you guys found some trash lying around. Good work – have they told you what they're after yet?"

"This one won't give me a straight answer," Lilly remarks, nudging the old man with her weapon. "Jane found a whole stash of weapons in the trunk – definitely military standard."

"The name's Bryce, by the way…"

"Fine, _Bryce_ won't give me a straight answer."

Flashing Bryce a dangerous glare, Derek walks up to the guy before bending down to his height and lifting the man's chin up.

"My friend here asked you a question," he barks, surprising me with his choice of words. _Friend? _ When did that change happen, and more importantly, why doesn't he still treat us like a couple of insects as he said he would? I mean, it's only been three weeks or so – we couldn't have moved up _that _quickly!

"_FUCK OFF, YOU STUPID PRICK! WE DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU JACK SHIT!" _Todd yells at the top of his lungs, sounding like a whiny, little brat who just wants some attention from his mommy and daddy.

Knowing that this wouldn't end well if left unchecked, I sternly look towards Bryce before pulling out more of the weapons. They've got all kinds of dangerous shit back here!

"You might want to settle your dog down," I mock, calling from the trunk as I scavenge through their stuff. "I can't promise that they won't put him down if he keeps going at this rate."

"…Todd… just quit it, alright?" Bryce relents, seeing as how there's nearly no possible hope of escape at this point. "Make it easier on yourself, son. Sometimes it pays to know when to give in…"

"Spoken like a true quitter!"

"No, spoken like a true survivor," Derek comments, shaking his head as Todd outbursts once again. "Now tell me, Bryce… Why are you here?"

"…we've been trying to find a new place to stay," he explains, his voice muffled through the side of the car. "Ever since a few months ago, things have just started going downhill – well, more than they were already. We stopped getting shipments of supplies from a prison out in Mexico, but at first we just figured that the roads may had been blocked or something. Three more months rolled by and still there wasn't anything, so we sent out a scouting party of about seven or eight to go through Houston and see what the trouble was. Only one of our guys came back…"

"Who were you getting the supplies from?" Lilly questions, even though I already have an inkling of what the answer might be.

"The guy's name was Sandro," Bryce admits as I bang my head on the roof of the car. "Big, mean-looking guy. Had the eyes of a hawk and didn't take shit from anybody. The way I heard it, he worked his people to the bone out at some prison near the border."

"Well, he's not doing that shit anymore," I say bitterly, rubbing my head as I start to bring out the last of their weapons. Bryce widens his eyes as realization hits him.

"Y-you?!"

Lilly and I just retain our neutral faces as Bryce scoffs in disbelief. He's probably wondering how a couple of women could've possibly even laid a finger on the bastard, but we'd need a whole afternoon to explain every detail.

"What do you mean only one of them came back?" Derek interjects, choosing to ignore the whole Sandro thing – we've been over that scenario with him a dozen times before. "Lurkers? Sounds to me like you people weren't great at defending yourselves."

"No… it wasn't the dead that got them…" Bryce shakes his head. "The man who came back… he died shortly after from bullet wounds. He told us that some little bitch and another guy were sniping at them from the roof. A few more of our guys went into the building to shoot up the place for killing our men, but they never came back out."

Huffing and rolling her eyes, Lorna swears under her breath before forcing the teen to his feet and plopping him right beside Bryce on the ground.

"I think we've heard enough of your _ghost stories_," she says sarcastically, wanting nothing more than to kill them and be done with it. "If they don't have any useful information, then we should just take their stuff and get back to the base. You don't want to leave it undefended, do you Derek?"

"No, no, please! I'm telling you the truth, and nothing but the truth!" Bryce pleads, not wanting his life to end just yet. I'm sure that he fears for the boy's safety as well. "It was in downtown Houston, and it was HUGE! From what we were told, they had electricity and was high up enough that the walkers would have trouble getting to it! You've gotta believe me!"

"Oh, I believe you," Derek calmly nods, placing a careful hand on Bryce's shoulder. "I also believe that you lied to my friends about your weapons, and that more of you are going to storm our camp."

"They already have…"

"Todd, shut the fuck up…"

Hearing the roar of gunfire and soft screams echoing in the distance, Derek immediately stands up; getting alarmed as Todd chuckles darkly on the ground.

"Better hurry… they won't last too long without the big boss to keep them safe."

"…kill them, or let them live. I don't care," Derek remarks, turning on his heel and starting to sprint away with Lorna hot on his trail. "Just get back to the camp! We need you two!"

This is a bit of a conundrum, that's for sure. No doubt about it, this would be the _absolute perfect _time to ditch the camp and set off on our own – with nothing to hold us down.

But now that I think about it… there actually is something holding us back.

"We can't…" I groan, getting frustrated as I think about what they've done for us so far. Sure, they might be assholes back at the camp who may have at one point dealt prisoners for supplies… but apparently nobody's innocent around these parts. How many groups there were in this trade exactly I'm not too sure, but out of all the groups that I've met… this one's kept their word.

Despite being taken her against our will, that camp is our home right now. There's absolutely no telling where Clementine might be, or if she's even alive, so going on a wild goose chase trying to find the girl would be stupid. Clem's smart – I've no doubt that she's alright somewhere, safe and sound.

Taking off in a car now… what would be the point?

"You're sure about this?" Lilly asks calmly, not giving the reaction I was originally expecting at all. "Whatever we do, Jane, we do it together. I'll go where you go – it's your decision."

"…let's wait it out a little while longer," I remark, not wanting to just take off without a damn good idea of what's out there. Houston Hills was burned to crisps, so what else could be there? "See how it goes."

As we glance at our captives, I can't help but feel slightly bad for the two of them. Sure, they've got enough weapons to fill a small army, but were they actually doing anything to us? No, they were just sitting put in a car, waiting for their comrades to come back.

"You know where this place is?" Lilly asks pointedly at Bryce, who seems to be lost in his own little world. "Hey, eyes front! The place in Houston, do you know where it is or what?!"

"Umm… I might be able to find it for you. Like I said, it's only based on what our man told us," he admits, glancing over at Todd as he wipes the mud off of his face.

"Good enough for me," Lilly says as she forces the two to their feet, noticing too late that Todd's clenching his fists.

When he's fully upright, the boy uppercuts Lilly right in the jaw before sprinting off into the woods; leaving Lilly on her back as he neglects the weapons in the car. Bryce makes a move to leave as well, but I fire a bullet right at his feet and startle the man into submission.

"Don't even think about it," I order, making him get into the back seat of the car while I wait for Lilly to get up. "You alright?"

"Ugh… fucker's got a mean left hook, that's for sure…" she whines, rubbing her jaw as she shakes it off like the tough bitch I know she is. I mean that in the kindest way possible.

As I slam the trunk closed and hand the keys over to Lilly, I climb into the car and sit right beside Bryce; aiming my pistol at him the entire time as we drive towards the camp. If things go south, then we could at least have some sort of a guide to help us find this so-called magical place out in downtown Houston.

"You're lucky that we didn't kill you today – after lying about the guns," I warn the man, who simply looks down at his lap and says nothing. "But you're smart for keeping your cool. Your friend there was asking for trouble."

As we get back onto the main road and get closer to the camp, Lilly widens her eyes as she glances upon the place.

"Jane… you might want to get a look at this," she tells me, causing me to turn my gaze for just a moment. "We might need to pack our bags after all…"

Bryce looks ahead with a small smirk as I witness the various explosions going on at the front gate, the wooden buildings, everything. It's all getting blown to smithereens. Chunks of wooden support beams go flying as the battle rages on – I can't even tell who's friend and who's foe anymore.

Lilly puts the car in park as our noses are assaulted with the smell of fire – I'm glad that we didn't just abandon these people to their fates. The old me may have done so, but the new me cares about certain people.

Our home is under attack.


	16. Hope

I used to believe in things.

In people, hopes and dreams, heroes of all shapes and sizes… There was nothing that could hold back my optimism when things went bad. I always had something to hold onto and strive towards, even at a tender, young age. There wasn't a damn thing I couldn't do if I set my mind to it, and even when all hope seemed lost, and people felt like their entire world was crashing down around them, there I'd be – waiting to catch the pieces with a pretty rainbow over my head. No matter what, there was always a bright side to things, at least in my mind.

Whatever happened to that sweet, hopeful little girl I used to know?

I'll tell you what happened – she grew up, realized that people are deceiving, manipulative jack asses that will clock you over the head and dump your body in the river when it works out for them. Heroes? _Please_, there are no such things as heroes. Heroes are selfless and kind; people who'd run through a burning building to rescue an old man who was stuck underneath his couch, or save helpless kittens from a tree.

Bad people are everywhere these days… and I think that I just found their main hideout. I had an inkling right from the start that these people were off their wagon; that a safe, secure place like this was bound to hold something sinister within its walls. I sure as hell wasn't expecting something at _this _level, but do you want to know the sad part about all of this?

I'm not even so sure that this is the worst that I've seen.

It's depressing to think about, but it's kind of the truth. All of my friends and family are either dead or gone, and I've had to watch as one by one they disappeared from my life forever. I've been held prisoner at least twice now, been held at gunpoint so many times that I've lost count, and have had to put down a bunch of people to keep them from turning – whether it's against somebody else, or physically turning into a walker.

"_You need to do what's necessary, no matter the cost," _I specifically remember Jane telling me when we were out looking for Luke, Nick and Sarah. _"No hesitation."_

Sucking in some wind as I aim my weapon at James while trying to make an exit, I take her words to heart. I hope you're proud of me, Jane.

"COME NEAR ME AND I'LL SHOOT!" I threaten, glaring coldly at the man who took me in just a few days ago. I bet he wishes now that I had just crawled back down through the floor where I came from.

The lenses of his glasses are fogging up due to the hazard mask that he's got on, so he carefully lifts the thing off his head while trying to make sure that I don't pull the trigger. My finger's getting pretty itchy, if you know what I mean.

"You shouldn't have had to see all of that, Clementine… I'm sorry – I know what it must look like…"

"You're sick, twisted monsters! All of you!" I shout, feeling the wall with my hand behind me as I continue to try and get myself out of this situation. There's no way that I'm letting these punks get their hands on me!

Placing the mask down on the table beside him, James eyes the gun wearily as he raises his hands out in front of him in surrender.

"Please," he begs for a forgiveness that I don't have, "just… let's talk about this, alright? I can promise you that it's not what it seems."

"I should kill you right now…" I grumble darkly, feeling an anger inside of me that I haven't experienced in a long while. What's to stop me from shooting this man and ending whatever messed-up shit was going on down there? James has a screwed up sense of justice and morality if he thinks that what he did was _necessary_. "You're torturing bandits?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Most of them have come to kill our loved ones – "

"They're still PEOPLE! CUTTING THEIR HEADS OPEN DOESN'T MAKE THINGS BETTER!"

"We're doing it for the greater good – not what you're probably thinking," he shakes his head, probably realizing how that makes him look. In my eyes, this man and everyone downstairs is a psychopath. The fact that they're doing all of this behind closed doors is just as disturbing. "It's for the cure we're trying to create, Clementine. We needed live test subjects in order to see the effects on the human body… and obviously nobody around here was going to volunteer…"

"So your answer was to kidnap people and put them through _that?!_" I ask, desperately wanting what I had just seen to have been some kind of sadistic nightmare, but it's real. It's so very real, and I couldn't do a thing to stop it. "I'm leaving – you try to stop me, and I'll put you down! I don't have a problem killing monsters, and you know that I'll do it, James! Just try me, I dare you!"

Looking behind me for a brief moment, James sighs before putting his hands in his pockets and staring back down to the floor. I hope that he's damn ashamed of himself, as he should be. I don't know enough words to describe how cruel and terrible this is, but I think he gets the message. I might not be able to save those people downstairs, but I'm not going to let them drag me down next.

That is, until I feel a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around my stomach.

"NOOOO! LET ME GO!" I screech, kicking and screaming as I try to break free in a panic. Everything within me is on high alert, but I won't let them take me – not without a fight! "GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Jesus, Clem, it's me! It's Bo, just calm down!" he tells me, but that only makes me swing harder as I elbow the guy right in the nose.

Is he in on this thing too?! Was he lying to me the entire time?!

"GET OFF ME!" I shriek, attracting some attention as Debbie comes sprinting into the room. Before she can rush over, James places his arm in front of her and says that it's under control. I try biting Bo's finger the same way that I had back before I met the cabin crew, but his grip is too low for me to reach.

So instead, I try a different sort of tactic.

"Please… I don't want to die…" I pretend to cry, forcing a few tears to roll down my cheeks that I honestly didn't expect to come. "I want to be with… I want my Mom and Dad! PLEASE LET ME GO!"

The heart-breaking thing about this is that I actually _do _want Mom and Dad to come back to me, even though I know they're dead – I saw them with my own two eyes. Despite how tough and self-reliant I've managed to convince myself that I am, deep down I'm still just a kid. I should be at school during recess playing my friends, hanging upside-down from trees and giggling at jokes. My nights should be spent watching a little late-night TV with Dad until I fall asleep against his chest, or trying to read something with Mom.

But no – instead, I've been thrust into a shitty world with shitty people, forced to do shitty things that lead to shitty consequences. I'm scared for my life all the time, have to have a gun in my pocket constantly, and have to live every waking moment thinking that it'll be my last. This isn't any way to live, but it's what I've been forced into.

This isn't fair! Life isn't fair, and this whole damn world isn't fair! Why can't people just _not die for once?! _

"I'll take care of it," Bo remarks to James and Debbie, as my gun falls flat out of my hands and onto the floor. I've got no energy and no willpower left to fight back anymore. I'm done. I hang limp in the man's arms as he starts to carry me out of the board room. I don't care how ridiculous this must look as we pass by some of the other people living here; all oblivious to what's going on in there. All that I want to do is… sleep. Sleep, and wake up next to Lilly and Jane again. That's not too much to ask for, is it?

Suddenly feeling incredibly exhausted, I slowly nod off as my eyes start to close. Exposing people for the monsters they are can sure take a lot out of you.

…

"_Lee?"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_Why did Lilly… do that to Carley?"_

_Looking over, Lee shakes his head and sighs. I've witnessed this scene play out a hundred times since she returned, but still the conversation intrigues me. Not because it's anything earth-shattering or game-changing, but my answer deeply surprised me._

"_What do you think? Should we have left her behind?"_

_Even after killing Carley, even after potentially breaking apart a big chunk of this group with her and Kenny's constant fights… I could never convince myself to hate her._

_Perhaps I felt more about Lilly than I had realized. _

"_No."_

Dangling my legs over the roof as I overlook a large part of the city, her face continues to pop into my head. What's she doing now? Are her and Jane even still with each other anymore? Are they safe? Are they happy? So many unanswered questions fill my head as I see their faces pop up in front of me.

I wish that I hadn't taken off like that… I wish so badly for things to be different. Jane and Lilly only ever wanted me to be safe – they never wanted me gone. They had no choice, I can see that now. But I've recognized it far too late, and they're never coming back. I'm going to be on my own for the rest of my life.

Angrily, I yank my hat off my head and crush a part of the beak in my hand.

"_You know, I could really go for a sandwich right now," Jane comments, stretching her arms to the sky as she tries to clean out the gutters up on the roof. Lilly holds the ladder steady while I watch with amusement from the wheelchair. "Anybody got a ham on rye? Extra tomatoes?"_

"_Sure, let me just pull that out of my fucking pocket," Lilly mutters sarcastically, unable to contain a smirk however as she rolls her eyes. "Why are you constantly thinking about food?"_

"_It helps me take my mind off of your naggy-ass voice!"_

"_How long do you think you'll be up there for, Jane?" I ask, getting kind of impatient as she grossly tosses a handful of mud beside me. "You said we'd go work on that 3-D puzzle thing this afternoon!"_

"_Just hold your horses, Clem. I'll be finished in no time."_

_Looking over to me, Lilly mouths "no" and shakes her head which causes me to giggle slightly as Jane cocks an eyebrow._

"_What? Is there something on my face?"_

"_Yep, but we'll let you figure out where it is," Lilly says snidely, which causes the both of us to laugh when Jane tries to wipe the imaginary thing off of her… ending up with mud on her nose as she forgets what she was doing._

"I'm sorry…" I whisper on the wind, hoping that somehow my message will magically travel to their ears. The more that I think about Jane and Lilly, the worse that I feel. They could be dead or captured or walkers or anything, and I would have no idea.

Suddenly overcome with grief, I put my hand over my face and tiredly try to wipe my eyes. What have I done? I just shooed away the best friends that I could've asked for because I was too immature to see what they really wanted for me – safety.

A part of me wishes that Lilly had just slapped some sense into me right after I told Jane to leave me alone. It probably would've saved me a lot of trouble, and maybe I wouldn't be in this mess right now.

"Got room for one more?"

Quickly recovering myself, I give my head a shake before putting my cap back on and glaring out at nothing in particular.

"How did you find me?"

"Well, I am the one who brought you up here in the first place," Bo reasons, trying to crack a smile out of me that I no longer have in store. "…you're pissed, I get it."

"Do you even blame me?" I ask, too tired to yell even if I wanted to.

"No, you've got every reason to be."

"Then why are you here?"

Setting himself down a few feet away from me, Bo sets his rifle down on the ground as I look upon the inscription on the back end. It's the exact same logo that I had seen earlier – it's that firefly again. This can't be a coincidence, not this time. That symbol means something, but I'm kind of worried that if I ask, the answer will have something to do with those awful experiments going on down there.

Just the thought of it makes my blood boil.

"I think you and I need to have a little chat," he tells me, trying to get me to look at him. "I also think that if anybody else came up here to check on you, you'd try to throw them off the roof."

Well, Bo's certainly not wrong on that point. It probably wouldn't do me much good without a weapon, but I'd probably still be too stubborn to care.

"How can you stay here knowing what they're doing in there?" I question, completely baffled that he'd be willing to stick around. I don't care how well-protected they are, it won't matter if the people you live with are evil, heartless bastards!

"Hmph… why do you think you're the only one that I told about my past?" he mutters, causing me to nod my head as I recall what he told me about being a bandit beforehand. "Remember those friends that I told you about? Well… let's just say that not all of them died out in the woods."

"What happened?"

"We got separated out in the city. The streets were flooded with the dead everywhere, so we got cornered and I told two of my buddies to run. I managed to come across this place, and that's when I shot the watchman before making my way inside. I came, inside, lied about who I was, and that was it. They never suspected a thing."

Running a hand through his thick head of hair, Bo shuts his eyes tightly; as if trying to hold back a flood of memories that he'd soon rather forget.

"A couple of weeks later, they found one of my friends trying to break into the space center… and they were holding him against his will. The moron still had a bandana around his head, and they could tell at the very first second what he was," Bo explains, causing me to look on in interest. "The guy begged and pleaded for help… but I… I told them that I had no idea who he was; that he must've just been a scavenger out in the wastes. Couldn't do a damn thing as they took him away… I'll never forget that look of betrayal on my friend's face – I've never stopped having nightmares about it."

I don't know whether to hate him, or sympathize with him. I mean, I can see kind of where he's coming from – they would've dragged and strapped him to the table next if he had admitted anything to James and the rest of them. But leaving your friend behind like that? I don't really know what to say.

It's a good thing that Bo beats me to it, then, as I glance down at his weapon once again.

"I hate what they're doing to people; what they've become over the last two years or so. But as much as I'd like to kill them all – and believe me, I would – it wouldn't achieve anything. They know what they're doing, Clem. James… he's got a heart, and this is the last thing that he'd ever want to do. But as bad as it sounds… they don't have a choice."

"How could you possibly believe that?!"

"They can't even attempt to make a cure without living, breathing patients," he explains, looking pained as he speaks. "I know that's not you want to hear right now… but in this world, sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Whether we like it or not, people die. A lot. People are dropping like flies, and until we can find something to cure this disease with, it's just going to keep on happening. Does that make sense to you?"

"I don't think anything makes sense anymore," I respond, pulling my knees to my chest as I glance over the massive hole out in the street. So far it's managed to keep most of the walkers at bay, but how long is that going to last?

"Ha! That's probably the most honest answer I've heard in a while," Bo compliments, trying to make me feel better but failing – miserably. "So… what are you thinking?"

Somewhere in the back of my head, Kenny and Carver are whispering for me to shoot the place up and kill every last miserable person in this wretched place… but I haven't listened to either of them in a long time. Carver was always a prick, but Kenny… I try to remember the good side of him, before he went completely insane. Jane may have also been crazy, but Kenny was almost on another level.

Lee is pretty much the only conscience I have that I _actually _listen to, and right now he's telling me to keep my head on straight. I'm not making this stuff up, and no I'm not crazy either!

…okay, not quite as crazy as some other people.

"I'm going to leave," I tell him bitterly, glaring at the only man here that I don't want to violently attack. "I need to find my friends, and you're not going to stop me."

"I wouldn't even try, Clem."

Searching for any lies, deception or malice within his eyes, I huff out when I see none and stand up to start leaving this place for good. The Houston Space Center has turned out to be nothing but a massive disappointment, which sucks because I still think that rocket is super cool. There's nothing holding me back this time.

"…but can you at least hear me out first?"

Except for him, apparently.

Groaning in annoyance, I turn back around for a brief second to listen to what he has to say. I already know what my answer will be – no. I refuse to stay in a place that experiments on people like that, no matter how good their intentions might be. I've spent enough time in camps to know when it's time to get out, and there seems no more of a perfect opportunity than this.

"You've got a good head on your shoulders, and you've got morals and standards. That combined with your experience out there in the world makes you about ten times more important to this place. The people need someone like you," he tells me, standing up as he straps his gun across his back. "Give it time and they won't care how young you might be – you're a leader, Clem, and I've seen it. You can be the person that can save the human race, and save the next generation from getting wiped off the planet. You can be their salvation."

"Why do you keep telling me this?" I ask, feeling slightly overwhelmed at how highly this man thinks of me. It's kind of unnerving, to be honest with you. "I'm not the person that you think I am, Bo! I've killed before, too… How am I any better than the people out there?"

"You don't have to be _better _than them, you just need to _guide _them."

"I don't have to do anything!" I yell, not liking the idea of telling others what to do. "I'm not friends with you people, get it?! I'm just trying not to die! I should've died a million and a half times already! I'm not ready to lead people!"

"That's exactly _why _you're ready, Clem," Bo reasons. Jesus, it's through one ear and out the other with this guy! "You've got it in you, anyone can see that. Debbie knows it, James knows it, I know it. You're twelve years old, and you've had to go through more shit than anyone else I know… but you've come out on the other side. You know what it's really like out there, and that's exactly why you should stay. I can't express that enough."

There's not one bone in my body that wants to stay… but maybe Bo's got a bit of a point. How long will all of those innocents last without proper gun training or survival tactics? Do any of them know how to properly set up camp, cook food over a fire that they themselves have created, or have the mindset to kill things when they have to?

By the look on Bo's face, I don't think they do. He seems to be the only one around who's actually survived outside, but he was a bandit. I see why he's trying to force this burden on me now – Bo wouldn't be able to, not with the things that he's had to do. He's getting older, and some day he's not going to be able to get out of bed in the morning. Who knows how long the average person's got to live anymore?

"…what's that on your gun?"

Glancing down to where I'm pointing, Bo rubs his fingers along the white, little drawing upon the weapon with slight pride.

"It's the logo of the Fireflies."

"Fireflies?" I ask, confused as to the meaning behind it. "What do they have to do with anything?"

"It's more of an idea, if anything – it represents a hope for a better future. I've been meaning to put it together as a sort of saviour initiative, where we're all a part of something greater than ourselves," he explains, making me think that he's on some heavy-duty drugs or something. "If we could have everyone under one banner, sharing a common goal… then maybe we could start to rebuild. I know you think it's stupid, but maybe humanity isn't quite as lost as people might think."

Knowing exactly what the next question's going to be, I sigh and close my eyes. I'd do it if only to save these people from sick assholes like James and Debbie, and partly because I am just so tired of feeling sorry for myself. Enough is enough, I'd rather die fighting for something that I believe in than continue to live knowing that I ran the other way.

"Would you be willing to lead it?"

Grasping my hand on the door handle, I breathe deeply before hearing Lee's voice in my head once again. _You can do it, sweet pea. I know you can!_

"I'll… I'll think about it," I mutter, nodding towards him as I leave Bo to his thoughts on the roof.

This is a lot to take in.

_AN: Hey y'all, sorry if that was a little bit slow, but I think it was necessary to get them feels out :) And also, if you haven't figured this out already, yes this is the same Fireflies from the Last of Us. The apocalypse obviously isn't the same, but you guys might be in for a treat in the coming chapters. _

_Anyway, hope you liked this one and I'll be sure to write the next chapter soon! Just one more exam until I'm off for the winter break lol. Reviews are always welcome!_


	17. Wasted love

_AN: Good news! I'm finished exams now, and you guys get to suffer through reading my story 'cause I've got two weeks off lol. Hopefully I haven't bored you to tears with this thing, but I think this chapter's gonna be pretty cool. It's reminding me more and more of the comics where everybody's at war with each other all the time, even though I haven't actually read those yet :P_

_Also, this whole chapter is going to be rated M because of… well, "intimate" stuff, I suppose. The language may also be a bit offensive, so viewer discretion is advised I guess :) Please don't be alarmed, it's nothing too graphic, and hopefully it doesn't come off as cheesy or anything._

_Anyway, enough babbling. Enjoy!_

_**Jane's POV**_

The car shakes as another explosion rocks the foundation of a camp building, as we see chunks of debris flying outwards and landing directly onto someone's face. They scream in agony as the burning hot embers scorch their skin; blinding them whole before they're torn up by bullets. Derek and Lorna are nowhere to be found… but these assholes managed to find Henry's body outside the fence.

They've got his head propped up on a wooden spike just inside the camp as a way of tormenting us. It's pretty damn effective on me at least…

Growling and gripping the steering wheel tighter underneath her bony fingers, Lilly angrily turns around and roughly snatches Bryce's shirt in her grip. He's in for it, now.

"Is this what you fucking wanted?! Huh?!" she snarls, slamming his face into the window as he grunts in pain. "Your little _take-over _seems more like mass murder! Tell me what you see out there!"

"Grghmph…" he mutters, unable to say anything with his face pressed up against the glass like that. Very reluctantly, Lilly allows him to sit normally as she shuts the vehicle off and hands me the keys.

Quickly, she caresses my cheek with her thumb with sweet concern.

"Stay in the car, and don't come out. I'll be back in no time."

"Fuck that!" I argue, unbuckling my seatbelt and angrily groaning as Lilly firmly shoves me back down into the seat. "God damn it, Lilly! You're not going out there without me!"

"I wasn't asking, I was telling you," she shakes her head, unwilling to change her mind as she glares over at Bryce. "You need to keep this asshole on lockdown – if he tries anything, kill him."

"You're too stubborn for your own good, you know that?" I point out, earning a small chuckle from my companion.

"Between you and me, we're the most stubborn fucking team around," she jokes, planting a quick kiss on my head before stepping outside with her rifle; locking the doors for quick measure.

Come on, Lilly – you don't honestly expect me to listen to you, do you? You should know me better than that by now!

I worry about that woman constantly – especially recently. Lilly's gotten kind of bold ever since we've arrived at Derek's camp, and it's got me concerned that one of these days she's going to slip up… maybe do something reckless. I can't have that, not after all of this. We're all that's left, and I don't intend on losing the woman that I (let's face it) love. Aside from Clementine, I didn't have any other person to count on, and unbeknownst to her, I always kind of admired Lilly; even when we were at each other's throats. I held a level of respect for her that couldn't be toppled.

So she better not get herself killed… Something like that might just break me.

"You two, uh… together?" Bryce asks; a bruise forming on his cheekbone after getting roughed up just now.

"I wouldn't be concerned about us, if I were you," I tell him, leaning one arm against the passenger door with my gun lazily held in my lap. "You're just lucky that I was with you out in the woods. If it were just up to Lilly, she probably would've dumped your corpse and left you for the walkers to eat."

"But you're not like her. You're… different," he says softly, slowly inching his way closer to me in the back seat. "_Good_ different, I mean. You're soft, nice and you could possibly… let me go?"

The guy stops speaking as he looks down to see my pistol wedged right below his stomach, as I see him gulp in nervousness.

"If there's one thing you need to know, it's this – I'm not _nice_," I mock, jabbing the gun further into his gut as he slowly starts moving back to his original spot. "Just because I spared you that one fucking time doesn't mean that I'll do it again. In fact, I'm about fifty percent less likely to do so if you step out of line. I shot a man in the balls and left him for the dead just because he _looked _at me funny, and I'd have no problems with doing the same to some creepy, old man who can't keep his dick in his pants. Understand?"

Well, it's a little bit true, at least. I did shoot Troy in the balls… but for a much different reason than that. A much _darker _reason… Let's just say that "looking at me funny" is putting it mildly. Every day that I was at that hell of a hardware store, Troy would make sexual jokes behind my back or even right in front of my face when he was feeling bold enough. Commenting about what I was wearing (which was the same thing all the time), touching me in places that I'd rather not say aloud… It was a fucking nightmare. Not wanting to get shot by that asshole, I'd usually keep my mouth shut on those types of things.

I even told him that I'd sleep with him if it'd help me get out of the pen – yeah, I was in a pretty desperate and shitty situation, that's for sure.

But trust me when I say that it was damn satisfying seeing the look on his face as I walked away for the final time… his screams were a final release, and I could finally leave that wretched place behind for good.

Hey, I know that I ended up coming back, but it was under _our rules _the next time!

Machine gun fire rips through the air, while Bryce and I watch in shock as a whole bunch of their crew start to pull back and hide near the fence. I shoot one of them through the front windshield before he notices me, which is about the time that I figure enough is enough. I'm sorry Lilly, but you're not the boss of me!

"Get out and open the trunk," I order, motioning for him to unlock the door as I keep my aim upon him. "No sudden moves – trust me, I won't miss."

Seeing that he has no choice, Bryce nods and slowly does as he's asked, even though I'm sure he's confused as to why. Making sure that nobody can see us, I impatiently tap my foot on the ground while I hand him the keys to open the trunk. Obviously I can't just pop it open electronically with the key anymore – that would require something to _actually work _for once.

"You don't really think of me as some creepy, old man do you?"

"Why? Did I hurt your feelings or something?" I question, glancing at him through the corner of my eye. "I know all types – the dumb, the smart, the cocky, the assholes, all of 'em – you thought that just because I'm a chick that you could overpower me."

"Well, you did leave the weapons unguarded in here…" he points out, looking back and forth between me and an assault rifle in a means to pick it up and kill me with it.

In a daring gesture, I point towards it and offer him to make an attempt.

"Go ahead and try it, Bryce. Take a chance – maybe you'll get lucky," I point out, shrugging my shoulders as his fingers graze over the weapon. "Or maybe you lose a few fingers when I blow them off your fucking hand. Only one way to find out."

Pausing, Bryce sighs deeply before pulling his hand back and shaking his head. At least the guy's smarter than the teen he was with… god, that Todd guy was just asking for a bullet to the brain.

"You live to fight another day, old man," I praise before roughly smacking him across the temple a couple of times; rendering him unconscious as he collapses like a ragdoll against the trunk of the car.

Satisfied, I swing his legs upwards and use the trunk as leverage until I can somehow get him to fit inside. He's gonna be pretty uncomfortable if and when he wakes up, sitting on top of the guns and all while getting squished in like a sardine. It's like looking at a human pretzel from this angle.

Slamming the trunk closed again, I make sure to put the keys back in my pocket before leaving the area. Hopefully he'll be able to breathe in there, but hey, that's not my problem.

Lilly's gonna be pissed when she finds me out here…

….

"JANE?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE?!" she bellows, having to do so because there's so much mayhem going on around us. Buildings are on fire as the firefights get more intense among the combatants.

"I CAME FOR YOU, IDIOT!" I yell back, shooting some dick in the leg as he's dragged away by one of his friends. "I'M NOT OUT HERE TO PICK DAISIES OR SOMETHING!"

Little bits of dirt and gravel spring up as the last of the grenades go off, but thankfully the fighting's now mostly gone down to either hand to hand combat or gun on gun. Lilly's legs are getting scraped by all the debris, even though she's wearing those tight, leather pants that… I've noticed. Her face is all dusty now and has smudge marks that match a few cuts that she's gotten from crawling to safety so much.

"I'm almost out of bullets! Why didn't you just stay in the car like I told you to?!" she snaps, reloading as I sprint over to her side. I hand her an extra pistol as I too reload my weapon.

"Since when do I ever listen to you anyways, Lil?" I smirk, chuckling as she rolls her eyes at the stupid nickname. "How many are left?"

"Of us, or them?" she asks, shooting down a woman as she comes sprinting out of the alleyway. One less than before, I suppose. "No idea, but it looks like things are starting to slow down a little bit. They're not blowing our shit up anymore, so that's a start."

"But they've wrecked most of the camp," I point out, gesturing to the burned tents, busted-up buildings, several massive holes in the granite around us as well as the fallen telephone poles. What was once a decent-looking setup has turned into a burning, crumbling ruin that's likely not going to get repaired. "Well, you're the military gal here. What should we do?"

"I was a secretary…" she reminds me, ushering me along as we try making our way to Derek's little setup that he has near the back of the camp. "Last I checked, people were still fighting over there. If they get into our armory, we're all fucked."

"Doesn't look like that's gonna be a problem," I shrug, looking as the last few stragglers are kneeled down in front of Derek, Lorna and a handful of others. He nods towards us as we approach.

"Glad to see you made it out," he comments, kicking over a stone as he spits on the ground. "Not many of us did."

"Did Margaret…?" Lilly asks, looking really solemn as Derek sadly shakes his head. If I remember correctly, she was the one who helped fix her up after her ear was blown off so horrifically. "Shit…"

"It's still light out, so keep an eye out for any leftover assholes who might be wandering around the camp… not that there's much left to look at," Derek remarks briskly as he addresses the remnants of his crew. Most of us are battered and beaten down, but somehow we've managed to keep going strong. We're a lot tougher than we look. "For now, though, it's up to us to decide what to do with these people. Should we keep them hostage, shoot them or set them free?"

"We should string their heads up on the fence like they did to Henry!" somebody shouts out, getting a round of agreement that actually kind of startles me.

It's nothing compared to what these people are probably thinking of right now.

"We're not animals," Derek advises, holding firm as he shakes his head in disagreement. "We're better than these fuckers – we don't need to stoop down to their level. It's what they'd want us to do, and what would that accomplish? Would any of you be able to sleep at night knowing that you've decapitated someone and hung their heads out like the fucking laundry?"

"THEY SLAUGHTERED MY COUSINS! I DON'T CARE ABOUT BEING BETTER THAN THEM! I WANT REVENGE!" shouts a very angry and saddened man, going up and grabbing one of the hostages by the shoulder before roughly yanking them forward.

In response to stepping out of line like that, Derek calmly walks over to the man and clocks him right in the nose.

"Get your shit together! We do things as a group around here!" he snaps, dragging the hostage back to her spot in the centre.

One of the men look towards me with begging eyes, but Lilly steps in front of me and glares at the man without another word. The man slowly starts to whimper as he looks to the ground in sadness.

"They're a bunch of fucking rats," Lorna comments, joining Derek's side as she looks upon them with disgust. "You can't just let them go, Derek. What message will that send to the rest of us? That we can let people walk all over us while killing us and taking what they want? You have to end this before it spreads, honey."

Gasping, the captives look up and start to beg for their lives; some of them grovelling at their master's feet while others just start praying to whoever's willing to listen. It's rather pathetic to witness grown men and women acting this way, but circumstances are different when your lives hang in the balance.

"PLEASE! WE'LL DO ANYTHING YOU ASK OF US, WE SWEAR!" one woman pleads, her voice cracking as she croaks out the words. With Lorna whispering her ideas into his one ear and his other ear listening to everything else, I'm surprised that Derek hasn't gone completely bonkers yet.

What surprises me even more is when he looks over at us.

"What do you two think we should do?" he asks, understanding the shock as we look over with widened eyes. "You've got some pretty clear heads on this sort of stuff. What's your opinion?"

Knowing full well that Lilly won't be the least bit sympathetic to these people, I shrug my shoulders before chipping in my two cents. If we are to keep some of them around, I'd better speak up.

"I've got one of their guys in the trunk right now – says that he might know where we can move to if we can't stick around here," I tell him, watching as he nods with uncertainty. "Even if they tried to kill us, it might still be a good idea to keep at least a few of them alive. You need to fill in some of the spots they left behind, don't you?"

"What makes you think they won't just shoot us when our backs our turned?" Lorna asks, raising an eyebrow as she looks on with disapproval. I'm getting real tired of listening to this crazy bitch, to be honest. "Sounds like a stupid idea to me, not to mention reckless. You'd have to be pretty naïve to think they won't attack us after all of this."

"It doesn't matter if we trust them or not!" Lilly comes to my defense as she shoots Lorna a glare which she returns. "Killing them won't change anything – save the bullets for the walkers. Revenge killing isn't all it's cracked up to be…"

"Yeah, you two cunts would know all about that, wouldn't you? I'm sure you had a grand old time murdering those people in Houston that I keep hearing about!"

"Say that again, you fucking shithead!" Lilly rages, only stopped by me holding onto her arm tightly. She's totally not worth the breath to yell at, and it already seems as though Derek's made up his mind.

"Now that the drama's finished with," he comments, looking pointedly at his girlfriend, "we'll take it to a vote. We're keeping your man in the trunk alive, but the rest of you lot's fates are up for debate. All in favour of sparing them?"

Me, Lilly and two other very reluctant people. Their sobs get louder as they realize what the end result is probably going to be.

"All in favour of killing them?"

Everyone else, including Lorna.

Emotionlessly looking towards the doomed attackers, Derek motions towards them with his head as they're helplessly pulled to their feet. They struggle and flail about in a desperate attempt to flee, and it's then that I notice that Todd is among their numbers.

"PLEASE, HELP ME!" he begs, not wanting to die at such a young age. But there's nothing either of us can do about it. "DON'T LET THEM GET TO ME! PLEASE!"

"I'm sorry…" I mumble, refusing to look him in the eyes as a cloth is thrown over his head. "…but I can't help criminals…"

"WRAGGGHHH!" he screams, struggling to break free as Derek's followers await the command on what to do with them. With a heavy heart, Derek places his hands on his hips as he makes a final verdict.

"Make it quick," he tells the camp, pointing over to a toppled concrete wall a few yards away. "Set up a firing squad – headshots only. We don't need them coming back."

Like a bunch of Nazis, the camp do as they're told; marching their prisoners off to their demise as one by one they're forced to stand beside each other. I turn away from the scene as I glance over at Lorna, who's waiting patiently to shoot the men and women.

Lilly follows in behind me as we start to walk away, but not before giving Derek a disapproving look as we slump along.

I don't want to think about what we've become, as I cringe and put my hand over my mouth while the roar of gunfire signals the ends of their lives.

…..

_**Lilly's POV (This is the graphic part coming up :P)**_

How the tent's actually still intact deeply surprises me – I don't remember installing a force field around it, do you? Aside from people coming in here and knocking a few things over, everything seems to be right as rain. My stuff is back in its rightful place beside my messy, uncomfortable bed, and if somebody had stepped inside of this tent right now you might not have even been able to tell that that a battle just took place outside. We're pretty fortunate in this regard – a lot of other people didn't have the same luck.

I'm still trying to figure out why I agreed with Jane that we should stay here… Obviously I'll go wherever she does, but why would she still feel responsible for these people? I mean, they forced us to join them! They're the people that separated us from Clementine (which I still feel like shit about) and they basically ruined our lives!

How did it come to pass that we're now concerned about whether they live or die?

Maybe it's got to do with Lorna… that fucking jackass… Without Jane to calm me down I probably would've tried to rip her head clean off of her shoulders. I don't know what I'd do without Jane around, honestly. She's always there to set me back on the right path, and it hurts that it took me this long to figure out just what she meant to me.

Speaking of which…

"Did they get him to talk?" I ask, referring to Bryce after she left to take him out of the trunk. I tried to convince her to forget the guy and leave him there for a bit, but Derek had insisted. "What did he have to say?"

Sighing, Jane runs her hands through her short hair before sitting down next to me; leaning her head on my shoulder as I rub comforting circles upon her back. I feel a lot more comfortable doing this sort of thing when other people aren't around.

"At first he refused, which we all knew was coming," she explains, listening to the sound of my breathing as she whispers to me. "But then he saw them on the wall… and he caved. Bryce will show us where this place is, if it even exists. I still can't believe that happened…"

"It's over now, Jane. There's nothing either of us could do about it."

"I just don't know if I made the right choices today," she admits, showing a soft side to her that I don't usually see. "Don't you ever feel like that? Like no matter what you do, things just happen that don't make sense and are out of your reach?"

"…all the time."

Nodding against me, Jane leans back on the bed so that she's staring at the roof of the tent; the familiar bullet holes in the top making her grin.

"Doesn't that bother you at all?" she questions, lazily pointing upwards as the wind whistles through. "I bet it gets cold over here, especially at night."

"All the time," I repeat, sliding my boots off as Jane chuckles behind me.

"Is that just going to be your answer for everything?"

"Possibly. Why? Does it bug ya?" I ask, poking her in the ribs as I watch her squirm beneath my finger. Suddenly, my eyes light up as I get a mischievous little smirk upon my face.

Knowing full well what I have in mind, Jane gives me the finger before moving farther back on the bed.

"Don't even fucking think about it," she tells me, getting slightly nervous as I block her attempts to escape. "I'm warning you, Lilly! Don't come near me like that! Don't – Heh… ha ha… hahaha! Stop it! God damn it, Lilly! HAHA!"

"It's nice hearing you laugh once in a while, you know that?" I smirk, chuckling as she giggles like a toddler underneath my fingers. My hands find their way underneath her shirt as I continue to tickle her sides, only stopping when she starts to gasp for breath. Planting a kiss on her forehead, I absentmindedly brush my hair over top of my dismembered ear, but Jane quickly snatches my wrist. "Jane… stop it. You know that I…"

"I like you no matter what," she interrupts, brushing my hair away from my face as she gazes at me lovingly. "Isn't that all that matters?"

That's almost all it takes for me to set myself upon her and crash my lips feverishly on hers, totally convinced that I was _meant _to be with this woman for the rest of my life. Deeper and deeper I go, almost enveloping her tiny body into mine as my left hand rubs her head while my right one grasps underneath her jacket. By the small, satisfied groans that she elicits occasionally, I'm pretty sure that Jane's enjoying this just as much as I am.

My lips travel down to her neck as Jane breathes more heavily with each stroke of her hand against my arm. She can't help but squeal as my cold hand meets her bare stomach once again, and I feel all giddy and excited inside when she forcefully grabs my arms and brings me further onto the bed.

"Do you… want to…" she asks, the question hanging in the air as she breaks in between kisses for air.

Stopping for just a brief moment, I pause to collect myself and catch my breath as I look upon Jane's face. Never have I wanted her more in my entire time of knowing her, and it almost pains me to realize that if the apocalypse hadn't occurred – if the dead hadn't risen and none of this stuff ever happened – I probably would never have met this amazing, beautiful young woman.

Well, at least one good thing came out of the apocalypse.

"Fuck it," I nod, unzipping my leather jacket and tossing it carelessly on the floor. "We might be dead by tomorrow anyway." 

"That's the spirit…" she jokes, starting to take her clothes off as we jump underneath the covers. After a few more minutes of kissing and seeing her… in all of her painfully-beautiful glory… I can't take it anymore. I brush myself against her as we begin our dance – our wonderful, mind-numbingly pleasurable movements that make me lose all sense of self-control.

Why the fuck did I have a crush on Lee again?

"Let's make this a night to remember…" I hum lowly before grinning and giving her another kiss; our clothes forgotten on the ground nearby.

It'll be a night to remember indeed.

…

"Close your eyes."

"No way," Jane shakes her head, looking over at me flirtatiously. "Not with the show you're putting on over here! I get front row seats!"

Jesus Christ…

Chuckling, I toss the covers off my bare body as I quickly get my things together and go behind a flap of the tent; not being able to hold back a smirk as Jane pouts in protest. Call me crazy if you want, but I still don't feel comfortable changing in front of people – even if we did some… ahem… kissing stuff…

"I don't bite, Lil," she calls out from the bed as I hear her gather her shit together as well. "At least, from what I've been told, anyways."

"There's always the chance that you could turn into a vampire and bite my neck," I reply cheekily, putting my jacket back on before rejoining her on my lumpy-ass mattress. This thing's a piece of shit.

But I suppose I won't need to worry about it for much longer, seeing's how we'll be leaving in a few hours anyways.

"Hmph… still a better love story than Twilight…" Jane comments, causing me to roll my eyes. "What? You know I had to say that! You can't say vampires and not think about that!"

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't say that," I tell her, kissing her on the lips every time she tries to protest. It gets to the point that she can't help but giggle in bliss after the fifth time that I do it. "You wanna try that again?"

"I think you've worn me out enough for one night," she sighs in content, interlocking her fingers with mine as we lean our heads back on the pillow. "But that was nice… did you enjoy yourself, at least?"

Vigorously nodding, I shift over a bit to make myself more comfortable on the mattress. The two of us go into a nice, quiet silence for a few moments, just relaxing in each other's embrace. Feeling her with her arms wrapped around me like this… I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around why she chose _me _of all people to be with.

And with everything that's been going on lately, it makes me really start to question our future.

"I remember almost a year ago now," I recall, shaking my head at the stupid thought, "you and I wanted to kill each other. We actually _tried _to several times, if I'm remembering right."

"That's what the best relationships are based on," she chuckles, snuggling up against me as she holds me tighter. "If you haven't tried to kill each other at some point, then you're not doing it right."

"Spoken like a real guru," I nod, glancing over to the picture of my Dad and I when I was growing up. Reaching out for the photo, I blow the thin layer of dust off of it before sitting up to examine it. Jane looks over my shoulder to look as well.

"That's…?"

"Larry, my Dad," I tell her, frowning slightly as I recollect on my past. "You probably would've hated him – he could be a real ass sometimes."

"Come on, he couldn't have been _that _bad!" she tries to console, but giving up when I give her a look. "Clem mentioned him once, back at Howe's."

Closing my eyes, I sigh deeply and place the picture back near my bag. That photo's been in my pocket for a very long time now.

"Let me guess," I interject, frowning as the meat locker comes back to mind. Always the fucking meat locker. "It was about how Kenny fucking smashed his head right in front of me?"

"…I'm sorry, Lilly. Truly."

Not wanting to dwell on the past any longer, I choose to put on a brave face and fake a small smile for Jane, but she knows me too well and can see right through that. Am I that easy to read?

"What's on your mind?" she asks, sitting up and placing her hand on top of mine comfortingly.

"A lot of things, actually. But…" I pause, not wanting to upset her in any way by blurting out something stupid that I'll later come to regret. "…do you think this will last?"

"Huh?"

"This – _all _of this," I point out, shaking my head as doubt fills my thoughts. "Any fucking day could be our last, and I'm not sure what we're gonna do if Lorna spills the beans on that whole walker thing. I don't want to lose you, and I sure as hell don't want to see you get hurt."

"This is about more than us, isn't it?" Jane picks up, raising an eyebrow as I slowly nod my head. "Clementine?"

I can't help but imagine the worst kinds of things happening to her… Who knows if she even made it out of the house or not? We don't know if Kyle killed her or if she got burned alive in the blaze or if she got eaten by walkers! There's no way of knowing what's happened to that very special little girl, and I think the guilt would tear me apart if I found out she had died.

"Clem's smart, Lilly. She's got a gun, survival skills and she can think on the fly. She's alright, Lilly, I know she is," Jane reiterates, trying to seem determined but looking frightened at the same time. "She just… she just has to be…"

After things start to quiet down a little bit, I hear some soft snores coming from behind my back, indicating that she's asleep. I smile lightly as I look over at her sleeping form, noting that I'll have to tease her about it later.

Planting one last kiss on her forehead, I turn back on my side before softly opening up the drawer. My prized possession sits inside, and I carefully take it out to examine the shiny surface between my fingertips.

Twirling Dad's old ring around for a few seconds, I can't help but think of what the future might hold for us – for me, Jane and Clementine as well. Will we ever be reunited again? Thinking the way that I am, certainly won't help, so I try to take my mind off of it as I gaze upon the small object one last time.

Placing it in my pocket, I go to sleep with a smile – knowing fully well that I'm in the loving arms of someone that I care deeply for.

Maybe it's time this ring went to better use.


	18. Mother I'm here

_AN: You know what? Other people seem to be doing this whole review response thing before the chapter starts, so what the heck – I'm gonna give it a whirl._

_Rebloxic: Hell yesss, thanks for the constant support, man! Whenever I post a new chapter you're almost always one of the first names to pop up :) And you guys should totally check out his fic called "LoveHate", I've really gotten into it._

_Emilyrose727: Lol yeah, I thought it seemed like something Lilly would think :P Btw, congrats on nearly getting 300 reviews! That's insane, and you've worked real hard to get there – you should be proud!_

_Clemmyclue19: I told you I'd give you a surprise, so here it comes :D Hope you like it, and thanks for all the reviews!_

_VictoriaSW: That MIGHT happen, but I'm going to leave it up in the air for now ;) Gotta have something to look forward to lol_

_Aqua: Yep, they sure did lol and your story's getting intense! I've got a feeling some big things are gonna start happening!_

_Galen: I'm glad that I'm not the only one who enjoyed that game aha, and… well, just keep reading to find out the big surprise I've got in store ;)_

_Guest: Wow, that's huge – thank you so much! I'd PM you but I can't do that so… I'm glad you're enjoying it :) _

_Alright, here's a little early Xmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa present for you guys, enjoy!_

This is so stupid. Why the hell am I being such an ignorant moron?! Isn't the old saying, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me"?! I should've left two days ago when I had the chance, but _noooooo _I just had to keep thinking about all that Bo was saying and how defenseless these people would end up being if it was just here to protect them!

You know what, Lee? I know you taught me that people always deserve a second chance, but maybe you're not always right! You don't always have the answers, you know! And now, thanks to your _words of wisdom _that are stuck in my head, I've decided to stay and try to help out around here!

This is the worst idea that I've had in a long time, and trust me when I say that I've had plenty of bad ideas before!

You'd think after everything that's happened, with people lying in front of my face, backstabbing others that they've cared about on a regular basis and just plain-out being untrustworthy, that I wouldn't be so quick to forgive others. You'd think that I would totally expose James, Debbie and the rest of them to the rest of the space station; ruing their reputations and causing nearly everyone to move out.

But I didn't do that.

No, instead of letting the group know the truth that they deserve, I've kept my mouth shut and stuck around anyone whose names aren't Debbie or James. Hell, I've even been trying to avoid Bo recently, especially after that whole _leadership _thing. I still don't think that I'm cut out for it, and I'm pretty sure that he's worried about scaring me away. So, thankfully, he's managed to give me some space every once in a while.

Such as right now, for instance, as I scrounge through an abandoned hunting supply store just a few blocks away from the space center. Bo didn't seem to think that it was a good idea for me to go off by myself, but I pointed out how much he'd be contradicting himself by telling me earlier how independent I had become. He didn't argue with me much after that.

This place smells like a combination of firewood and old, musty clothes that've been left in the washing machine for too long. It's a weird combo, I know, but it's better than smelling dead, decaying bodies all day. The store is called _Bass Pro Shop_, and I'm going to assume that it used to be a fishing store considering the giant bass planted on the sign. I bet that my Dad would come into places like this all the time back when he was going out on one of his trips.

I carefully shut the glass door behind me and step inside; flashlight in one hand while my pistol rests in the other. It's pretty clear in here so far – nothing too crazy except for a bunch of tossed sport fishing magazines and some boating clothes.

What I'm really looking for is the gun section – they usually had one in stores like these.

If not for the light coming through the smashed glass windows, I wouldn't be able to see a damn thing in here. Some old blood stains on the floor indicated a struggle taking place somewhere around here, and so I follow the trail as it leads me down rows of camouflage jackets, brown steel-toed boots and broken fishing rods. The trail is all dried up and crusty-looking on the ground, and I can only assume the worst as it takes a left down to the canoe equipment section.

"Damn…" I mutter sadly, shaking my head in disgust as I lift my collar up to cover my nose. A few rats scurry away as I approach the body; bending down on one knee to get a better look at the woman. If the broken oar on the tiles beside her is any indication, I'd say that this girl got paddled to death and wasn't able to turn afterwards.

_But the infection's still sleeping inside of her_, I remind myself, finding this stuff actually more interesting now that I actually know a bit more about it. I'll give James one thing – he certainly knows what he's talking about when it comes to infectious diseases. How he applies this is just the worst, but he's certainly not stupid.

Kicking her leg with my shoe to see if she'll move around at all, I dig my hand around in her pockets in search of anything useful. Nothing but pocket lint and a few instant-coffee packets for the most part, but I do manage to grasp my fingers on a worn-out, torn, folded and bloody letter that's very difficult to make out, but I sit across from this dead woman and start to read (even though it's still hard for me to do). Who knows? Maybe she knew something about this place that I didn't.

Flickering the flashlight a little bit, I squint my eyes as the words start to become visible.

_Ellie, _

_I'm going to share a secret with you, I'm not a big fan of kids and I __hate__ babies. And yet… I'm staring at you and I'm just awestruck._

_You're not even a day old and holding you is the most incredible thing I've done in my life – a life that one day might be cut short. So I'm writing this as my will; my last words for you for when the time comes that I cannot speak._

_There's no one in this world that I care about more than you, and I don't want you to have to grow up like me. You deserve far better, and I absolutely refuse to willingly make you go through the same horrible stuff that I experienced as a child. Just keep your wits about you, don't give those you care about hard time… and try not to be as stubborn as me._

_I'm not going to lie, this world can be pretty messed up. It might kick you, knock you down and beat you up. It won't be easy, but picking yourself back up off the ground is the one thing that keeps us going. _

_The thing that you always have to remember is that…_

Looking over at the dead woman across from me, I frown sadly as I wonder what could've possibly happened to her. Did she get bit and then put down? Or was she killed by a raging madman? Just from reading what this is so far, I can already tell that she must've been a good mom… just like I told Rebecca so long ago…

God damn it… AJ…

Shaking these thoughts aside, I flip the paper over and flatten it out on my leg as I keep reading. There's not much left to it.

…_life is worth living! Find your purpose and fight for it._

_I see so much strength in you. I know your Dad was never around much, and that it's been hard with only one parent. But I know you'll turn out to be the woman you're meant to be._

_Forever… your loving mother,_

_Anna_

_Make me proud, Ellie!_

I'm kind of torn about this. It feels sort of wrong to take this letter with me; almost as if I'm disturbing and disgracing this mother and her child by removing something so personal and meaningful to them. However, at the same time, I almost feel like it's a _responsibility _of me to take this thing. What's the point of having it sit in this woman's pocket if nobody's going to be around to read it?

Carefully folding it back up, I place it in my pocket and make a mental note to ask if anyone at the space station might know about this girl or where she might've gone.

"I'm sorry this happened to you…" I whisper gently, even though I know for a fact that she's dead and won't be able to hear me.

It just wouldn't feel right to leave without paying some sort of respect, especially after taking something so obviously precious to her.

….

"This should do the trick," I comment, scratching my chin as I notice the encased guns. The only thing stopping me from getting at them is this little grate thing with a padlock holding it in place. That's going to be a challenge and a half…

"_Instead of breaking the padlock, remove the screws, sweet pea."_

"Get out of my head, Lee," I command, scowling as I repeatedly smack myself in the forehead a few times over. "I can do this on my own. You're not real, you're… dead!"

"_Then why can you hear me?" _he teases, ringing in my ear drums as I feel a cold shiver go through my body. It's almost as if his ghost has come back to haunt me. _"People only disappear if you think they do. If you imagine I'm here, then I never left, Clementine…"_

"No…NO!" I scream, holding my ears like a child as I slam into a nearby fishing set; sending all of the hooks and bait to go tumbling to the floor. "Not again… I… I killed you! I shot you in the jewelry store! Get out… GET OUT! YOU'RE NOT HERE, DAMN IT! YOU LEFT ME! YOU LIED AND SAID YOU WOULDN'T, BUT YOU'RE DEAD!"

Hearing my voice echo off the high ceiling and throughout the empty fishing store, I slide downwards and hold my head in my hands. This cannot be happening… not again… I thought that I was done with this shit!

You see, after Lee and Omid had died, and Christa went into a dark silence for over a year, I slowly started to… hear things. Voices, usually; people that were long gone but would haunt my dreams and slowly creep their way into my reality. I'd yell at things that weren't there, see people that only I would be able to spot. It got to the point where the silent and moody Christa had to physically restrain me when I started screaming at Lee to get that strange kidnapper away from me.

To put it simply, I was going bat-shit crazy.

I'd covered it up pretty well until that point, which is when Christa finally started to realize just what tender age I was really at and that me hearing voices was potentially dangerous to my health. I heard her mention schizo… something, but I never fully understood what she was telling me. She didn't seem really bothered by it, probably because she most likely saw me as excess baggage after I "supposedly" got Omid killed, so I didn't worry about it that much either. There were a few instances afterwards where I'd hear voices in my head… telling me to do things sometimes… but they were few and far between.

I'd been able to hold them at bay for so long because I had finally found some people to care about – Luke, Nick and the rest of the cabin crew at first, and then when we reunited with Kenny the voices were mostly forgotten. I debated telling Kenny the truth when we arrived at the ski lodge that night, but I didn't want to spoil the moment. I hadn't seen him in so long that I didn't want to just bury him with my problems. Besides, the people and voices were gone, so what was the point in bringing something up from the past?

This – this is why. As I grip my hair so tightly that it hurts, leaning up alone in an old bass pro shop out in downtown Houston, the voices are my only companions now. It's usually Kenny, Carver and Lee whispering things in my ear, but it hasn't been this bad in a long time.

Leaning my head back and trying to collect myself after my little episode, I shudder as Jane sits across from me. I swear to god, everything inside of me is telling me that she's right there… but I know better.

Shakily, I reach my hand out to grab hers, but Jane simply shakes her head and points her finger up above to the right of me. Confused, I look to where she's pointing at to see some sort of strange contraption that I'm sure I've seen before, and when I go to grab the device that's when I realize it – I used this to open the can back when that dog bit me. Switchblades are always useful in these sorts of situations.

I turn my head back to thank her, but Jane's gone as soon as I turn around.

Feeling more alone than ever, I let out a quiet sob but force it back down into my small frame as I stand up and grab the switchblade; flipping it open a few times and stabbing at the air to see how it works. This thing could be deadly if you get a weak spot on a person, but going up close and personal to people isn't exactly my strong suit. I'd prefer to bring a gun to a fight over a knife any day.

The screws on the weapon rack are pretty loose already, making me think that somebody else must've tried the same thing at one point. So, taking the switchblade and putting it into the grooves, I twist around until all four of the screws are safely removed; cringing as the grate comes crashing to the floor with a loud bang.

I need to hurry this up before the walkers come lurking.

Hurriedly looking around, I snap my fingers in satisfaction as I yank a bag off one of the shelves and start putting some of this equipment inside. The two hunting rifles have got to be slung around my back, but the handguns can fit nice and snug inside as I put some boxes of ammunition in as well. You know, for one of my first times scavenging for items on my own, I have to say that I'm doing a pretty damn good job so far! These will definitely come in handy for the gun training that I (idiotically) agreed to start with Bo for the rest of the station.

Zipping the bag back up, I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach when I hear some walkers banging on the front door and glass windows at the front of the store. Looks like I'm taking the back exit this time around…

…

"Ughh… no fair! Riley, you know I can't reach that high!" the little girl pouts, crossing her arms as she frowns up at her friend. "That's cheating! We can't play tag if you're up there!"

"Don't be such a baby! Ha ha, you never said _where _we could hide!" Riley mocks, sticking her tongue out at her playmate while kicking her legs out over the railing. "You're too small, give it up already!"

"You suck donkey ass!" she replies, covering her mouth and trying to fight off an army of giggles as Riley widens her eyes at the language.

"That was a swear!"

"I bet that I know more of them than you!" she mocks, trying to climb up on a dumpster but failing miserably. "Ahem… ASS, BITCH, SHIT, DAMN… umm… oh! FUCK!"

"Dad made me wash my mouth out with soap when I said that stuff! It was _sooooo _gross!" Riley complains, scrunching up her face with disgust just thinking about it.

The little girl on the ground, grins in contentment; most likely feeling proud that she was allowed to say such things with no grown-ups around. She opens up the dumpster to look for any cool stuff, but immediately gags and closes it shut again as the smell reaches her nostrils. Riley laughs as her friend plugs her nose while trying to find something else to do.

"I don't wanna play no more!" the girl complains, twirling around in a circle to try and make herself dizzy. "Tag is a dumb game anyways…"

"No it's not! You're just being a whiner 'cause you can't catch me!" Riley mocks, losing track of her friend when she spins around the corner…

…right close by to a walker that's feasting on a dead raccoon.

"Stupid kids…" I mutter, coming out of my hiding spot behind some trash bags as I follow the little red-head with a gun in my hand. Riley spots me a second later and instantly starts yelling for her friend to run and for me to go away, but I give her a sharp glare and put a finger to my lips; telling her to be quiet.

The kid still doesn't know that she's walking right near a dead guy, so she continues to wander about aimlessly looking for something to do. She tries (and fails) to whistle to some stupid tune that she's probably heard of before, but is still completely oblivious to the fact that a walker has heard her and started to stand.

"_Rileeeeeyyyyy,_" she whines, huffing out a sigh as she lifts her face to the clouds. "Come down already! This is no fun no more!"

"MOVE!" I roar, grabbing her arm and roughly yanking her to the side before a walker takes a bite out of her scrawny arms. Naturally, she's incredibly alarmed and starts freaking out when I grab her, but she's shocked into speechlessness when I shoot the walker in the head; sending its brains to go splattering onto the pavement.

Breathing heavily, the little girl clutches onto Riley's arm as they both look upon with wide, frightened eyes. Riley protectively shields her friend from danger, and unfortunately they both seem to think that I look like the boogeyman or something.

As if I really care about what two little punks like these think about me.

"Wh-what do you… w-want?" Riley stutters, placing an arm in front of the red-head as she looks at me hesitantly.

I open my mouth to speak, but I'm interrupted by the sound of at least a dozen or more walkers that are quickly making their way towards us. Shit, they must've broken in through the fishing store on the next street over!

"Grr…" I growl, grinding my teeth together as I shoot two more of the monsters down. I then turn back to the two kids with an angry expression, meaning business as I frown deeply. "If you want to live, come with me!"

"Mom… Mom always said not to talk to – "

"Strangers, yeah I get it!" I interrupt the younger of the two, rolling my eyes as I start to take off. "Well, your Mom's not here right now, kid! So quit your yapping and let's go! Or would you rather try your luck with them?!"

Instantly shaking their heads, the two young girls follow me over to a small restaurant with a hole that's small enough for all three of us to crawl through. Thank god that I hardly grow very much…

"You first! I'll cover you!" I order, feeling more like the leader that Bo said I could be. Huh, maybe I wouldn't be so bad at this stuff after all. "Move it!"

The redhead sticks her finger in her mouth pensively, but seems a little bit more reassured once Riley bravely crawls inside. I shoot another walker to buy us a little bit of more time, but it won't matter if we're caught out in the open like this.

After looking over at me one more time, the kid worriedly bends down and crawls in through the hole in the wall, but I mentally slap myself when she gets her jeans stuck on a loose nail.

"You've got to be kidding me…" I mutter, pulling her pocket off the rusty nail and flinging the metal away. "GO NOW! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!"

"Ok, you big meanie! I'm going!" the girl bites back, making me groan as she tells Riley to grab her arms and push her forward. Having more than enough of this stupid kid stuff, I shove her legs through and start to crawl in myself; hoping to god that a walker doesn't pick their teeth with my legs.

"We gotta hide!" Riley shouts quickly, panic starting to kick in as the two girls scurry about inside of the restaurant. They're definitely younger than me, that's for certain. Squeezing my way inside, I just barely avoid danger as the walkers snap their jaws and start banging on the walls again. "Ellie, what are we gonna do?!"

Everything stops. Time goes to a standstill as I cautiously look upon the young redhead; nervousness playing at her features and confusion as to why I'm just standing here not doing anything about the incoming walkers. My hand trails to my pocket for just a second, but I quickly shake off the notion as I go back to the issue at hand.

It won't matter what I tell her if we all end up dead anyways.

"_Find something to block the hole, sweet pea," _Lee coaches, sending chills within me again as the voices come back in full force. I'll admit, hearing my old guardian's encouraging tone isn't the worst that could happen, and as much as I miss him, I'd rather not be plagued down by hearing him every time I try to do something.

The here and now – that's what's important.

"Find a box!" I tell them urgently, starting to look under shelves and tables for anything remotely useful. Looks like I'm gonna be a bit late getting back to Houston Hills.

_AN: So, there's your present, guys! Hope you're as excited as I am – this is gonna be fun :) Before you ask, yes I changed the circumstances and ages to have it work for TWDG universe, but I still think it's going to work. Hopefully you guys are alright with that._

_Anyways, if I don't manage to write another chapter before the holidays, have a good one guys! _


	19. Introductions

_Reviews!_

_Rebloxic: They're a little young in this for that kind of stuff, but in the game? Totally. Do you think they would've gotten together if Riley hadn't died?_

_Aqua: Yep, had to be done lol! And yeah, you too :D_

_Emilyrose727: Yeah, Clem's kind of going nuts unfortunately, and I thought it'd be kinda cool to see how a younger Ellie and Riley would play out in this. Also (cue Dragon Ball Z references) YOU'RE OVER 300!_

_Salient Spring: You've just given me an awful, terrible idea ;) This is gonna be fun lol _

_Guest: Yeah, definitely not going to happen in this thing – I'll tell you exactly how old they are in a bit._

_Clemmyclue19: Clem's getting a pretty serious case of schizophrenia – I'm not entirely sure how it works, but from what I've heard you get voices in your head that tell you what to do. Seeing things that aren't there could also be a factor, I'm not sure._

_VictoriaSW: We'll see about that ;) For now though, I don't think Clem's really on board of trying to save two little kids. Maybe she'll change her mind!_

_Galen: Yep, I'm a big fat liar! You should never trust a damn word I say lol thanks, I'm glad you liked it!_

_Ashes2ashes: Seems pretty ironic doesn't it? Especially considering that Clem's only 12 herself lol._

_Alright, here's the next chapter!_

"DID YOU FIND ANYTHING YET?!"

Hearing panicked whimpers and the frantic shuffling of footsteps rummaging around the restaurant floor, I'm going to take that as a no. Jesus Christ, this is what I get for trying to do the right thing, isn't it? A couple of stupid kids who don't know what the hell they've gotten themselves mixed up into!

Setting my bag of tricks down onto a dining table, I quickly reload my pistol while keeping an eye on the part of the room where we came in. If something's not done soon, then we're gonna get trapped in here with a bunch of walkers. That'll be game, set and match, folks.

Fortunately, I don't plan on dying today.

"_You think because you're a little girl, you can just get people killed and no one will care?!"_

"Get the hell out, Kenny…" I whisper violently, shaking my head and trying my best to focus on the task at hand. Trying to shoot every one of these guys is just going to draw every single walker in the downtown core towards us, and not only do I not have enough bullets to deal with them all (even with those I picked up), but how long will it be before Ellie or Riley freak out and run out into the street?

"This thing's too heavy!" I hear shouting coming from the kitchen, as I sprint over to where the girls are desperately trying to drag a box full of old cutlery, dishes and soap bottles. It'll have to do, so I quickly step in between the two of them and grasp an end of the cardboard box.

Hopefully the stupid thing won't just rip when I try to drag it across the floor…

"On three, we're gonna drag it over there! Ready?" I ask, not really waiting for an answer as I start counting down. "Three, two, one, go!"

A lot of the weight is getting dragged by me, but thankfully neither of the two are getting in the way as we pull the box forward; sliding it until we get within a few feet of the door. At this point, I simply tell them to step back as I push the box into place; falling backwards onto the floor as a walker jumps me by surprise.

"Crap…" I mutter, shooting the walker in the head and picking myself back up. Behind me, Riley and Ellie are holding onto each other for dear life as they quiver in fear – of me or the walkers I'm not too sure, but right now I couldn't really care less. "We can't stay here, you two! Are you listening?!"

"Y-you… k-k-killed…" Ellie stutters, shakily pointing to the dead body over by the box. I huff out a sigh and roll my eyes, annoyed by their ignorance to what's going on around them.

I'm about to say something else, but I'm interrupted as two of the walkers claw through the glass; their growls only tuned out by Riley and Ellie's shrill screams as the dead snap their jaws and try to reach out for us. On the other side, walkers are starting to get the same idea, as they try their best to get at their three course meal.

We're completely surrounded on all sides.

"I can't believe this!" I groan in frustration, though right now I'm actually pretty frightened myself. What the hell are we supposed to…

…the skylight. Jane, you're a certifiable genius!

"Up there!" I point, hurrying them along as I shoot the glass window on the ceiling and shield myself from the falling shards. Next, I tap impatiently on one of the tables in an attempt to get them to move faster. "Get going! I'm not gonna be monster chow waiting for you kids!"

"But… you're a kid, too…"

"Well, I sure don't act like one," I reaffirm, watching as Riley hesitantly tries to go up first. "You've gotta jump! I can't throw you up there!"

"I'm… ugh… trying!" Riley retorts, jumping up a few times until she finally manages to grasp onto the ledge. I nearly smack myself on the forehead when I realize just how little upper body strength they really have, and watch as Riley dangles from the ledge. "I'm stuck!"

"Just gimme a minute!" I holler, constantly keeping a second eye trained on the windows to make sure nobody's snuck in just yet.

When I look upon Ellie, all small and defenseless, something inside of me… I don't even know why, but something inside of me wants to help her. Maybe it's the fact that she reminds me of what I used to be back when all of this stuff first started, but did Lee give up on me when he saw how weak and incapable I was? No, he stuck around and tried to protect me until his dying breaths.

This is hardly the same thing right now, but I let out a groan and reluctantly dig into my pocket; pulling out the pocket knife and holding it out in front of the young girl (still sheathed, of course). She looks at me as though I've lost my damn mind.

Hopefully I haven't gone that far just yet, Ellie…

"This is for protection, okay?" I tell her, slowing my words down a little bit to make what I'm saying crystal clear. "If one of those walkers – "

"Huh?!'

"…the bad guys," I explain, hopefully getting the message across as I place a firm hand on her shoulder. "This is only if you don't have anything else to keep yourself safe. It's not a toy, get that? So don't go swinging it around or anything! Just keep it with you and follow my lead!"

She reluctantly accepts the object; holding it in her hands as if it's a bomb waiting to go off. You can tell that she's terrified – they both are – but the only way to live is to overcome that fear, think on your feet and keep yourself safe. Safety's one of the most important virtues to have these days, if not _the most _important.

Remembering that Riley's still holding on for dear life, I tell Ellie to let me know if anyone's coming as I grab a hold of the girl's shoes.

"I'm gonna push you, but you need to pull yourself up!" I call out, seeing Riley quickly nod as I try my best to shove her as high as I can. Once she gets some leverage, she successfully manages to pull the rest of the way onto the roof, safe and sound.

Glancing back over at Ellie, I point up towards the ceiling as I place the straps of my backpack upon my shoulders. There's no way that I'll be able to carry the rifles with me, so I simply toss them onto the roof and listen as Riley gasps in shock. I'm surprised that she didn't just kick them back down into the hole with the way things have been going today.

"You're up next, Ellie!" I yell, feeling like punching a wall when she frantically shakes her head. "WE NEED TO GET THE HELL OUT! WHAT'S SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND?!"

"STOP YELLING AT ME!" she whimpers, tears forming in her eyes as Riley pokes her head in to see what's taking us so long. This has definitely not been my day, that's for sure.

Seeing as how my words aren't going to change her mind right now (and add that to the fact that they'd probably run off if I went last), I grunt and prepare to jump up myself. It takes a few tries due to my stupid height, but I finally manage to grasp the ledge and yank myself out of harm's way.

Here comes the difficult part… who knew that kids could be such a pain in the ass?

"ELLIE!" Riley cries, reaching her hand through the hole in the ceiling as I stand and watch the scene unfold. Memories suddenly come flooding back to me, but I can't exactly place where this had come from…

_Sarah._

The same damn thing that happened to her… is about to happen to Ellie. Sarah had no will left to go on, Jane told me so right from the start. Her Dad was dead and no matter what we couldn't get her to move. Jane couldn't, Luke couldn't, and I couldn't.

So I left her to die.

"_You left your sister?" Luke asked in disbelief, following the trail along with Jane as I followed close behind._

"_I dragged my sister across four states, and she wanted me to end it so badly," she explained, this story enhanced later when she opened up to me at Houston Hills. "So one night, we got cornered by a pack of walkers that we couldn't avoid, and the only way out was the roof. I couldn't drag her; couldn't throw her! So… I gave her what she wanted."_

Rubbing my forehead, I try to get the craziness out as I look upon the scared, desperate forms of Ellie and Riley. What if I was in their position, and they had to try and save _me? _What if I was the scared, little girl who just wanted to play with her friends and see their parents while not having to worry about monsters trying to attack you?

"_Killing one in order to save many is a part of survival," Carver taunts in my ears, trying his best to control my mind as he enters my subconscious. "It's one of the tougher decisions that a weaker person couldn't make."_

Not this time, Carver. I'm better than you could ever be, and I'll prove it to you!

"Ellie, you have to trust us!" I tell her, a bit less hostile than I was before. There's still a sense of urgency however, and this is only furthered along when the walkers' growls get louder and more intense. "Give me your hand! Please!"

After getting an encouraging nod from her friend, Ellie steps up on the table, quickly places the switchblade into her pants pocket and starts looking really uneasy. When I realize that the walkers must be breaking through, I tell her to pick up the pace as she tries her best to jump – getting increasingly discouraged as she simply brushes fingertips with us.

"_Leave the weak for the walkers," _Carver snaps, shaking his head in disapproval. _"You know better than anyone, Clementine – the weak have to be flushed out from the strong in order to survive."_

"SHUT UP!" I bellow, startling the two girls as they look upon me with confusion. Shaking my head out of this stupor, I grit my teeth together and angrily kick the roof in frustration. "I wasn't talking to you! Now take my hand, you've gotta reach!"

It feels almost as if my arms have grown an extra foot long as Ellie finally gets a good grip on my hand, so with Riley's help, we quickly pull her upwards to temporary safety just in time – a walker was about five seconds away from attacking her, and all of this would've been for nothing. Stopping for a little while to catch our breaths, I take my hat off for just a second and rub my hand through my dark, curly locks; desperately trying to rid myself of these voices. I just need to keep convincing myself that they aren't real; that these people are dead and that I'm on my own with these two kids.

"That… was close…" I wheeze, perking my head up to look at our surroundings. The walkers are far too dumb to get up here, but staying on top of a roof while they all wait at the bottom isn't exactly the position that I'd want to be in. "So, umm… are you guys alright?"

Sitting up and glancing over at my tiny companions (not that I really should be talking about people being short), I deeply sigh before placing my hat back atop my head. They're not talking – definitely not after all of that scary stuff that just went down. Maybe I came off a little strong, but sometimes you've got to be firm in order for the message to truly stick in your brain.

Still, I haven't exactly started off on the right foot with these two, now have I?

"Well… I'm Clementine. Nice to meet you, I guess," I attempt, pulling off a half smile to try and relax them a little bit, but the walkers have made them more than a little restless I believe. Realizing that nothing's gonna work, my smile falters as I pull myself to my feet and look down off the roof.

Six walkers has now turned to at least a dozen, and that's not even including those that are inside the restaurant – not great odds for us, I'd wager.

"Let's look for something we can use," I suggest, pointing up to an outdoor patio that's a little bit higher than where we're at now. It'll probably be a bit chilly, but at least we'd have a roof covering our heads. There are worse places we could be. "We can camp up there tonight. It's getting pretty dark, and it's not safe to travel out there at night."

Looking at each other, Riley's the first one to stand up as she hesitantly wanders up beside me. I'm thinking that I've just shot Ellie's confidence levels to shreds.

"What can we use?"

"I dunno… Is there like a ladder or something around?" I ask, though not liking our chances – all that I can see on this roof are old bricks and tennis balls that bored kids probably chucked up here back in the day. Out of boredom, I pick up a brick and chuck it at a walker; watching as they fall over from the impact. "Well, this is wonderful…"

"…maybe we could… give someone a boost?" Ellie suggests, causing Riley and I to look back at her. She's got her hands in her pockets and seems kind of unsure of herself as she shrugs her shoulders, but I scratch my chin and give her a nod. That might actually work… or we could end up with a broken leg if things go south. Either way, though, it's worth a shot – I don't want to stay here for any longer than I need to.

Luckily for us the buildings seem to be attached to each other, so I won't have to worry about falling over when trying to do this – I can just lean my back against the brick wall to keep my balance.

"Ellie, how about you go first?" I suggest, seeing as how this was her idea in the first place. Folding my hands together, I bend my back slightly as she places her foot in my hands. With a lot of strain, I try my best to push her up as high as I can manage – thank god she's as light as a feather, otherwise I would've been screwed. She crawls over the ledge and then reappears a second later; holding her hand out as Riley prepares to go next.

By the time that Riley manages to get up to the patio deck of the apartment, my arms feel like gelatin – squishy and with no strength left in them. The two of them giggle as I make a mock exhausted face (a good sign for once), but I still need to get up there somehow.

"Could you build an elevator or something?" I whine, smirking as I take a few steps back. Getting a running start, I sprint towards the wall and kick off; reaching out for their arms as they catch me (thank god). The three of us collapse onto our backs as we try to catch our breaths – silently agreeing that we'll never do something like this again if we can help it.

But now I'm left with an entirely new problem – what are we supposed to do now? Do I just send them off on their own, or should I talk to them about maybe coming back with me?

I'll have to ask what it is they plan on doing in a little while. For now, though, I just need to focus on what I've been doing for the last three years or so now – survival. Opening the door open, I hold out my gun and decide to check out the floor before venturing further inside.

…

"Eyes open," I tell them, making sure that Ellie and Riley are sticking close behind me. "If you see anything suspicious, just holler."

"It's so dark in here!" Ellie exclaims, sticking to Riley like glue as she holds her switchblade carefully in her hand. "This place is scary!"

"We've gotta check everywhere if we're going to stay here tonight," I advise, opening up a closet to find it completely empty. "Looks like it's clear over here. Do you guys see anything?"

"Nope, just spiders."

Sighing, I place my gun back into my pocket before stretching my arms up wide and yawning softly. Running away and fighting for your life makes you more tired than you might think, and right now I'm completely zapped of energy.

Clearing the counter of useless junk that the previous owners must've left behind, I place my bag on top of it and start going through my stash of weaponry. Riley keeps the door propped open with a brick to allow some light in – at least until it gets dark – as Ellie quietly watches me work. I reckon that neither of them have really been around guns that much, but Riley seemed to be a little less nervous around them than Ellie was.

Silently opening the bag up and checking the guns over, I occasionally glance up to see Ellie and Riley conversing with each other. My mind starts to wander as they continue to talk about typical kids' stuff – games they've been playing, who their favourite super heroes are, and something about a comic called "Savage Starlight" I think she called it. I'll admit, it's sometimes nice to see people not worrying about the walkers, but not when we're knee-deep in them and have people who don't know what the hell they're doing.

…nope, not gonna get involved. I don't have a responsibility to these two girls – we just met, and we're still practically strangers to one another.

I'm so deep in thought that I don't notice a walker stalking up close to me.

"OH SHIT!" I swear unintentionally, falling to the floor as the walker lands on top of me and tries to snap its gross-looking jaws around my scrawny neck. I won't be able to hold it at bay for much longer, and it doesn't help that my gun's too far away from me to reach. Knowing fully well that Ellie and Riley won't be able to shoot a gun, I'm frantically trying to figure out a way out of this mess.

What shocks me is when Ellie takes her switchblade out and stabs the walker a few times in the head. It doesn't kill the thing, but it slows the monster down and gives me an opening to shove it off. Weakened, the thing retches back as it quietly snarls at us, but I put it down with the dropped pistol before it can do any real damage.

I hear the clang of something being thrown to the ground, and I watch as Ellie simply stands there; flabbergasted that she was able to do that to a walker without even thinking about it.

"Oh man… thanks…" I nod, breathing heavily as we stare at the dead body in disbelief. "Where did this thing even come from? I thought the coast was clear!"

With Ellie still too shocked to do anything, and Riley trying to calm her down, I walk around the room to find out exactly where our friend was hiding this whole time. It doesn't take long for me to figure out this mystery, and I step into the bathroom to find a disheartening and really sad sight.

"Where'd you go?" I hear Riley call out, but I don't answer right away. All that I know is that they really shouldn't be allowed inside the bathroom, lest they see the noose wrapped around the shower rod with blood stains all along the wall. In the mirror it reads _I'm sorry _in bloody letters, making me question why he'd do this to himself. There are quite a few reasons, even more so these days, but I don't ever want to go to that level of desperation. If I can survive while still feeling the effects of my parents and Lee's deaths, then I can survive anything.

Trying to ignore the fact that I and I alone can see Lee sitting on the edge of the bathtub with folded hands and a smirk, I close my eyes and shut the door behind me; making sure that I've settled down before venturing back.

"Let's set up camp here for tonight," I suggest, grabbing a couple of used pillows and tossing them towards Riley. One look at Ellie tells me that she's still more than a little bit traumatized. "I think we all need to have a little talk."

…

Riley and I have been chatting amongst ourselves (well, mostly me) for a while now, but Ellie hasn't come inside yet; opting instead to stay out on the patio and keep to herself for a bit. I've managed to get some pretty useful information out of Riley, but I still haven't asked the hard-hitting questions.

Turns out that Riley's seven years old and Ellie's six, and the two of them have been staying together for a while out in Houston. Back in that alley was their first real walker scare, as apparently they haven't had any real trouble with them up until this point. From the looks of things, they've got the mindset of an average seven and six year old – always wanting to have fun, go on adventures and do all the other stuff that your average young kid would do.

I've tried to be as to-the-point and simple as possible when explaining my background, only offering little tidbits of information instead of troubling them with everything that's happened.

"I wanted to ask the both of you," I tell them quietly, watching as Ellie finally decides to come in after it gets too chilly outdoors. "What uhh… what were you guys planning on doing? Was there anybody with you before? Do you guys have a place to stay?"

As soon as I ask who's with them, Ellie's eyes light up as Riley seems to have a memory jogged.

"My Mom should still be out there!" Ellie proclaims, breaking my heart as I see the hope twinkling inside of her. This is gonna suck… "There were some big, scary guys with guns that came into the fishing store with us, so Mom told us to run… But maybe she's still back there! Can we go look?"

"I… don't think that'd be a good idea. She probably wanted to, umm… keep you safe, you know?" I explain, making this stuff up as I go along in the hopes that she might buy it. "I was in that store you talked about… and… I didn't see anyone. Sorry."

"Oh…" she remarks sadly, the hope suddenly diminishing as she looks to the floor.

I don't feel great about lying to her, and a part of me wants to just hand her the note and get all of this right out in the open, but the girl's broken enough as it is. I'll be the first to admit that I haven't exactly helped her wellbeing since I met her a few hours ago, but telling her that her Mom's dead? How the hell would I ever explain something like that?

Biting my tongue and keeping tight-lipped about the letter, I decide to go back to what I was asking before about having a place to go. After giving it some thought, the both of them shrug their shoulders before telling me that they don't really know what they're doing out here – they just wanted to go exploring and see the city.

Well, you've seen it now – are you happy with what you've got? 'Cause the world out there is a shit storm that you really don't want to be caught in the middle of.

"Umm… why are you all by yourself?" Riley asks, causing me to fall quiet as I scrape some dust off my jeans. "Do you have any friends with you? Where are your Mom and Dad?"

"…they died."

When neither of them really seem to know what to say to that, I roll over to my side and try to adjust the pillow comfortably underneath my head. Talking about my parents just reminds me of Savannah and all of the horrors that it brought, so I wasn't surprised about how short I was with them just now. I hate talking about them for that very reason, as it brings up a whole slew of bad memories that I try to forget but never can. Their deaths have been permanently etched into my head.

Realizing that I may have been a bit unfair to the girls just now, I roll over slightly before making an offer for them.

"I'm with a bunch of other people over at the Houston Space Center – it's not too far from here, and I'm heading back there in the morning," I explain, still unsure of why I agreed to stay in the first place. "If you want, you two can come with me. It's your choice."

They say nothing for a time, which to me means that they're just gonna think about it and get back to me. Either that, or they're both planning to smother me with a pillow in my sleep – whichever works for them – so I close my eyes and try to get some much-needed shuteye.

"…is it safe there?"

_No, _is my immediate first reaction, as images of people getting dissected and operated on are still very much fresh in my mind. Nightmares of people getting experimented on and being given horrible chemicals have occurred every night since I made that discovery, and I haven't been able to sleep soundly since then.

"I don't even know anymore," I answer truthfully, turning over and shutting my eyes before they can question me further.


	20. Pink elephants

_Thanks for all of the awesome feedback, guys! I'm loving the support for this thing; it's been amazing reading all of your comments on this!_

_Rebloxic: That's true! They do that exact same thing with the TV show (if you watch it) and it actually happened right at the mid-season finale this year! And yeah, Riley's death was tough – especially knowing beforehand that Ellie survives regardless in the game._

_VictoriaSW: Lmao I bet those kids were freaking out XD And Jilly's coming up in a bit, now worries._

_EmilyRose727: Thanks :D Yeah, I think Clem's starting to reach her breaking point pretty soon, what with everything going on. And damn… you better have Nick or somebody kick the absolute shit out of Carver in your story – he's an even worse person than he was in the game!_

_Clemmyclue19: Oh boy… the one thing that I think of when hearing Dead Space is the eye poking machine, and what happens if you mess up – I still couldn't believe what was happening when I saw that at first! Unfortunately I don't know enough about the franchise to make a crossover for them, but that's a cool idea!_

_Guest: I'd probably explode from excitement if that were to happen, so they wouldn't be able to contact me XD Thank you so much! _

_Galen: Under normal circumstances I'd agree, but it'd be kind of a bad time to learn how to shoot a gun when she's trying not to get killed. She'd rather just get out of there alive – plus the gun training's gonna come with the rest of the space center anyway. Thanks for reviewing!_

_Spiderclone: You should definitely check it out – there are quite a few differences b/w the games so I've had to make some stuff up, but they actually mesh together pretty well._

_Here's the next chapter!_

_Jane's POV_

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Lilly chirps, causing me to groan and beg for five more minutes of peaceful slumber. She's not having any of it though, as she sits on my stomach and starts to bounce up and down in a very annoying fashion. "Come on, hurry up. The next thing I'm gonna do is drag you out by your legs and toss you over my shoulder firefighter style – we both know you don't want that."

Rubbing the gunk out of my eyes, I'm enraptured by Lilly's beautiful face smirking back at me. All at once, the frustration of having to wake up so damn early largely dissipates as I gaze into her brown doe eyes. I could get used to waking up and seeing her dazzling face every day.

Of course, I'm still being my grumpy old self when it comes to getting up early.

"You know, as much as I love you, Lilly," I yawn, sitting up in the bed and scratching my head, "you can be pretty damn annoying sometimes."

"You're not so bad yourself," she replies, giving me a quick peck on the cheek before turning to leave.

Before she can do so, however, I grab her by the neck and send her lips crashing down on top of mine; wanting to get all of this out of the way before we leave this morning. We might not get another chance to do so for a couple of days or so – even though the world ended and a lot of the old ways have been forgotten, I'm pretty sure that the group wouldn't appreciate having to witness public displays of affection on a big level.

Of course, Lorna seems to disregard that rule all the time, so what do I know?

"You done yet?" Lilly asks with a goofy grin as she raises an eyebrow.

"Just about," I tell her, planting one more kiss before letting her go. "Alright, you're free. I'll get up in two seconds… or five minutes, depending if I'm in the mood or not."

Hopping off the bed and swinging her bag over her shoulder, Lilly covers her torn ear up again before calling back to me.

"Well, if you don't move your ass, they'll probably leave the both of us behind."

"Two seconds it is then."

Lilly waits for me outside the tent as I hop out of bed and start scrounging all of my stuff together, though it's really not much. There's a couple of guns in there, Jaime's old nail file, some old Taco Bell coupons that obviously don't do me any good now, along with a few wash cloths and a bag of nuts and dried-up berries. I've been eating like a squirrel for the past couple of days or so, but I've got to say it's not too bad. It's a hell of a lot better than eating canned stuff all the time.

Making sure that I haven't forgotten anything, I nod and head out through the flap to find Lilly impatiently waiting on a rock nearby.

"You know, I think I might actually miss this place," I comment, looking at the sun rising over the horizon in the distance. Looks as though it's gonna be a nice day.

Scoffing, Lilly shakes her head as we start to walk down the path – looking a lot more rugged and full of holes after recent events.

"For real?" she asks me, unable to believe her ears. "Hmph… I've wanted to ditch this place ever since we got here."

"Well, it's no secret how _you _felt," I comment, earning a nudge from the older woman. It's hard to believe that Lilly's nearly ten years older than me, and why she'd want to go out with me due to the big age difference. In her eyes, she could probably see me as just a kid! "I don't know… Aside from us letting those walkers in and getting attacked, this place held up pretty well. The people were assholes, but Dallas meant something, you know? For us…"

"Aww, don't get all sappy on me now!" Lilly jokes, but deep down I know she feels it too. She just doesn't like to admit it, that's all. "Looks like Derek's about to address the troops. We'd better hustle, let's move."

"I thought you were dropping the whole _military _thing?"

"I guess that it never really left," she shrugs, and we stop our conversation as we hurry on over to the little group meeting that's going on over here.

Bryce isn't tied up this time around, but his face is badly bruised and his nose is definitely broken. There are a few cuts around his chin and several dark circles underneath his eyes – the guy looks as though he's been utterly defeated.

Not wanting to get involved with this, I just turn my attention to Derek… and Lorna… as he begins his game plan.

"Alright, we're all here. I'll cut to the chase – in case it wasn't blatantly obvious, we can't stay here any longer," he explains, gesturing to a steaming corpse on the ground next to him. I'm more than a little surprised at how nonchalantly he's talking about this, but I keep my opinions to myself. "But thanks to our little associate over here, we may have some place to go to after all – so that's where we're headed. If it's a dud over in downtown Houston, then we'll regroup outside the city and think about where we can try next. Most of Dallas and Austin are overrun with the dead so we can't try there."

"What if this is some kind of trap?" Lilly asks, not sold on Bryce being true to his word. I'm not really sure what to make of him. "Do we have some kind of backup plan in case things get hairy?"

Glancing towards one another, Lorna shrugs her shoulders as Derek sighs and puts his hands in his pockets.

"If it comes to that, then we'll be ready for it. We're smart – I'm sure that a little improvising wouldn't hurt."

"That's _exactly _how people get hurt! The less prepared we are, the more likely that somebody's gonna die!" Lilly tries to argue, but her words are falling on deaf ears it seems. Seeing how her opinion's not going to be heard (at least not with Lorna glaring at the two of us something fierce), Lilly angrily keeps to herself as the rest of the plan starts to move forward.

Turning behind him, Derek drags a bag through the dirt as he unzips it and pulls out one of the grenade launchers used to attack us in the first place. He lifts it up and holds it in his arms for everyone to see.

"This thing'll knock down any wall that they might have; be it steel, stone, wood, or whatever. We've witnessed it firsthand," he acknowledges, the light bouncing off of its rough surface. "One hit from this bad boy and you'll be knocked on your ass. We could cause total destruction and mayhem for anyone who would be stupid enough to try and come after us… we're leaving it here."

"Derek, you can't be serious…" Lorna disagrees, snatching the big thing out of his grasp as she places it on the ground. I jump a little at how carelessly she tosses it; thinking that the gun could fire at any given moment. "You saw how much they could do with these launchers! Think about it – who'd be able to stop us if we kept firing grenades at them?"

"That's precisely why they're staying here, Lor," Derek replies, making me think that he might not be such a bad guy after all. It all depends on perspective. "People who don't learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them – we want to take the place over, Lorna, not blow it up. Besides, nobody needs that much firepower. It attracts too much attention and isn't that useful for what we're going for."

"This right here? _This _is the mistake," Lorna says, but relenting as the leader goes back to addressing the little crowd of people that we have here.

"The bastards blew up our bus, but there are still a few trucks left for us to use. So, we're gonna split you off into teams of four," he says, motioning to Lilly and I first. "Jane and Lilly, you're going with Bryce and Tommy over here. Take the truck you recovered and have Bryce give you directions. We'll all follow in behind."

Looking over, Lilly and I notice a sturdy-built, kind but tough-looking man with long, brown hair walking over towards us with Bryce in tow. He looks almost as if he was built specifically to live in the apocalypse, but his eyes tell differently. Tommy seems like the hopeful type – that's not always the best way to go.

"How will we be able to talk to each other?" I ask, placing my hands on my hips. "Rolling down the windows and shouting the entire time doesn't seem like such a great idea."

"Ahh, now that we've actually got covered! Just gimme a minute or two while I grab them," Derek remarks, scurrying into the mostly-destroyed armory as the rest of us wait outside.

Lorna doesn't seem too impressed with us, but I'm not really worried about her spilling the beans on our little activities any longer. What are they gonna do? Kill us and risk getting themselves into trouble? Whether she likes it or not, Lorna's got to realize that this group _needs _us. Lilly and I have more than proven ourselves around here.

Well, at least I think we have. Derek hasn't really mentioned any of that "respect" stuff in a while now.

"Alright, these are some radios we can use. Henry pilfered them off of a nearby police station a while back," he comments, still looking rather saddened over the loss of an old friend. "Stick to channel three – that seems to be the only one that works . Also, don't go using it too much, got it? Emergencies or points of interest only – these things aren't exactly built to last these days. I don't want to hear any idle chatter going on, since we don't know how much juice these have left. Any questions?"

Bryce slowly raises his hand, which really surprises everyone, so Derek nods and folds his arms together.

"Sure thing, buddy. Let's see what this asshole wants to say. Go ahead, we're all ears."

The guy looks even more exhausted and emotionally drained than when Lilly and I first saw him – probably having to do with the fact that everyone he was with before is now dead. His eyes are red-rimmed as he clears his throat, probably thinking that he's way too old for this kind of shit.

"…can you promise me that you'll let me go after this is done?" he asks, seemingly a reasonable request to me. Aside from hiding the guns in the car and being part of a group that slaughtered a bunch of our people (which he didn't partake in), he's been pretty truthful for the most part. "If… if not… then just shoot me now and get it over with. I've got no intention of sticking around after I get you to Houston."

"That's if you don't lead us into a pit instead, you old fuck!" one of the men criticize, throwing insults his way as he shoves him on the shoulder.

"Simmer down, Joseph," Derek orders calmly. "No need for the elder abuse."

"It's no better than he deserves!" shouts another, their accents coming in strong as a wave of resentment is spewed out towards the old man. "I'll sleep a lot better knowing that this fucker's dead with the rest of his pals!"

"No, I guarantee you won't. But I'd bet you might after getting to this place in Houston. So don't step out of line again," he warns, before turning his attention back towards Bryce. "If this place is legit, and we no longer require your services, then fine, we'll let you go. But listen here… you'd better hope that this place isn't bullshit, my friend. Because we're not going to be too happy if we find out that you've been leading us on this whole time, get that?"

After the crowd starts to disperse and head into their respected vehicles, Derek motions for me to watch him like a hawk, while Lorna sits in the front seat beside him… scheming. I can see it on her pretty, little face – Lorna's up to something, I just know it this time.

"So… who's driving?" Lilly asks, offering the keys to anyone who's willing. With Tommy keeping a watchful eye on Bryce, and Lilly not looking as though she's up for driving right now, I snatch the keys and start the ignition.

"Get us to Houston, and I'll show you where it is… if I can remember it correctly…" Bryce says flatly, sitting himself in the back seat and keeping his eyes glued to the floor. Once everyone's settled in the car, I rev the engine and start driving off; checking to make sure that the other two vehicles are following us.

The last thing that I notice before leaving is Henry's head – still propped up on a pole as dried blood sticks to the wooden surface. You'd have to be pretty crazy to want to live here after seeing that.

Off to Houston we go.

…

_Meanwhile… Clem's POV…_

Gasping for air, I glance around the room with widened eyes and sweat droplets forming on my forehead; trying to look for the walkers that invaded my dreams. It's a pretty crappy situation when your nightmares and your reality practically become one and the same with things trying to kill you in both.

"_Don't be afraid of him honey," _Lee soothes, sitting in a chair nearby as I look over at him… or rather, my _image _of him. _"You're smart, he isn't. You're smarter than all of them."_

"Yeah… yeah, I know," I breathe out, fresh tears sprinkling in my eyes as I close them tightly. "Damn it… why can't you just leave me alone…"

"Who do you keep talking to?" a new voice appears, and I curse under my breath after my gaze lands upon Ellie. I had completely forgotten that I wasn't alone, but at least Riley's still able to get some sleep. "You do that a lot."

Knowing fully well that the six year old won't understand what I'm dealing with here – whatever this is – I sigh heavily and try my best to put this into words.

"It, uh… helps me forget," I half-lie, sitting up to face her properly. "I've just lost a lot of people, and it hurts to think about them. So I try getting them out of my head… if that makes sense."

"Mom told me once that if you try really hard to forget something, it just makes it harder," she explains, acting wise beyond her years as I offer a small smirk. "Like, uh… if I say _don't think about pink elephants_, what are you think of?"

"Pink elephants," I chuckle quietly, having not realized that until now. "I guess you learn something new every day."

I'm really glad that we're sort of able to talk like this now instead of just as two complete strangers. Yesterday I was starting to get worried that I may have scared the both of them off, but thankfully it seems that Ellie's starting to warm up to me. I was the same way at her age – wanting to be friends with every person I met, and not understanding why people wouldn't always want to be my friend.

It's a lot different now – it has to be. These days, if I don't know you, you're hostile and need to be given the cold shoulder until I get accustomed to you.

Although I'm not entirely sold on these two just yet, it's still a miracle that after a day they've already started to grow on me.

It'd really help though if I didn't keep hearing Rebecca's scolding tone, and picturing AJ sitting nearby whenever I look at the girls' faces. He'd have had his first birthday by now.

"Did you guys think about what I said yesterday? About what you're going to do?" I ask, needing to know since I'll probably be heading out shortly. Ellie sticks her finger in her mouth cutely, seemingly unsure of herself and looking as though she doesn't know if this is the right call or not.

That's what I've really noticed most about this girl, and what really intrigues me – there's a sense of self-doubt, nervousness and hesitation within her that's kind of holding her back. And yet yesterday, when I was faced with certain death at the hands of that walker, there she was with the switchblade I gave her; stepping up and saving my ass.

Riley shares a lot of the same qualities with a little bit more confidence – she's pretty remarkable for her age, that's for sure. You could practically say that she's Ellie's bodyguard with her protective instincts, but she's got a soft side, too. Without Riley around, I'm sure that Ellie would be lost.

"…yeah, we wanna go with you," she tells me quietly, twirling her hair around her finger self-consciously.

"Alright, cool. Sounds like a plan," I nod, standing up and stretching out my back. I grab the bag with all of the weapons inside of it, sling it over my shoulder carefully and start heading out the door. "Get her up, okay? I'm gonna go scout the situation, but you two have to be ready to move when I tell you."

Nodding vigorously, Ellie starts nudging her friend as I slip out; hoping not only that they'll be accepted into the fold, but also that Bo doesn't rip my head off for being gone so long.

James, Debbie and the rest of those assholes better not lay a finger on them, or so help me I'll gun them down before they can blink an eye…

…

"Mind explaining why you wanted to give me a heart attack?" Bo asks as we head into the cafeteria, trying my best to ignore the curious stares of the people surrounding me. "Where the hell did you go? I thought for sure that you'd left and weren't coming back!"

"I almost did…" I comment bitterly, causing Bo to sigh as I glare up at him. He may be at least a foot taller than me, but I can still intimidate with the best of them.

"Clem, we've been over this…"

"That's not something you can just brush off like it's nothing, Bo!" I hiss, having half a mind to blurt out this place's deadly secret to everyone in this room. "Anyway, this is Ellie and Riley – they're gonna be staying with us for as long as they want to."

As Bo glances at the two young girls behind me, I raise an eyebrow and practically _dare _him to try and question this. I've got him on the ropes here, not just with the experiment thing but also the fact that I know his little secrets as well. Call it blackmail if you want, but who gives a crap? I have no intention of sending them out on their own again; not after all that just happened.

"Just try and say it," I tell him warningly, still not really on good terms with the man as I throw him a challenging glance. "Try and tell me they can't stay here. I've seen this place, Bo – we've got more than enough room."

"Alright, bossy pants. Don't let this leadership thing go to your head," he advises, chuckling as I let down my guard for a little bit. "Speaking of which, are you ready to do this?"

"Can't it wait a little bit? I wanted to show these two around!"

"It has to be now, Clem. We can't put it off any longer," he shakes his head, a small frown forming on his lips. "One of the kids got nabbed by a walker last night… He was sneaking out late and went beyond the walls. We heard some screams but couldn't make it in time – the thing had ripped the kid's throat out…"

"Jesus…" I whisper, now feeling slightly ashamed of myself. If we had done this yesterday, then maybe that kid would've understood how dangerous it can be if you're not careful – perhaps he could've gone out with a gun in his hand.

Realizing that Bo's got a point, I nod and hand him my stash of guns – rifles, pistols and all. There aren't enough here to cover everyone at the space center, but it's good enough to keep everyone safe at least. Bo seems pretty impressed at my haul, but my attention's more focused on Ellie and Riley. What are they supposed to do while I'm helping with the instruction?

Unfortunately reading my mind, Debbie walks in and strolls over to look at the newcomers. As usual, in her bitchy kind of way, she scrutinizes the two of them; probably waiting for them to slit somebody's neck or blow something up.

Upon seeing that they're no threat, Debbie relaxes a little bit and steps forward.

"I'll take them and show them the grounds for a little bit," she says, more so to Bo than to me.

Oh hell no!

"That's not a good idea," I chip in, firmly disagreeing as Debbie looks over at me. "I think they'll be… _safer_… if they come with me."

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Debbie tells Bo to take the kids and wait out in the hallway for a second before gesturing for us to sit down. At first I feel like just telling her to go to hell and that I want nothing to do with her lying, bitchy face, but that's not going to do me any good. All it'll create are more problems for me to work out. So reluctantly I agree, doing as she bid and taking a seat that's far away from any of the other patrons.

"What do you want?" I ask icily, not bothering to hide my anger as she sits across from me. "Are you here to tell me that I'm next in line to get my head cut open?"

"James and I talked it over… we can see why you'd act the way you did," she explains, referring to me threatening her boyfriend with a gun. He had it coming. "I know you probably don't trust us after seeing all of that, and you're probably even less excited about bringing a couple of kids in here knowing about all that."

"That's putting it lightly," I scoff, sitting back in the chair as she continues.

"You might not get it right now, being a kid and all," she tells me, making my blood boil as she does. The nerve of this woman! "But what we're doing in there is gonna save millions, if not more in the future. You can't have progress without sacrifice, and this is no exception."

"You don't get to decide who lives and who dies! That's not your call!" I argue, clenching my fists as Debbie hushes me to keep my voice down.

Debbie's getting kind of irritated with me, I can tell, but for the most part she's managed to keep her cool. Sure, maybe I can _kind of _see where she's coming from, wanting to go back to the way that things were before – I mean, who wouldn't in their right mind? But the way that they're going at it, at least in my mind, is totally wrong.

"_Listen to her," _Carver remarks, suddenly appearing right beside Debbie. The woman looks confused as I seemingly stare at nothing, but I quickly shake it off and pretend that I can't see his smug face staring back at me. _"You know that she's right, Clementine. Deep down, you know that there's no other way. How can humanity keep going without this?"_

"I… I feel sick…" I blurt out, suddenly overcome with mixed emotions as Debbie looks on with concern.

"Oh, well did you need like a wash cloth or something?" she asks, turning her body to go fetch one. Instantly I shake my head, but I take off my signature hat and rub my hands through my dark, curly locks. My whole world is spinning out of control – this is bad. "Maybe you should tell Bo that you're not well enough to go through with the gun training."

"Y-you knew?" I stutter, shaking off my nausea as she nods. "…it doesn't matter. I need to do this – these people need to… be safe…"

Looking as though she's about to say something, Debbie decides against it as she closes her mouth and folds her hands together. She can definitely tell that something's going on with me, but she must think that I'd chew her out and bite her head off if she said anything about it.

And you know what the scary thing is? She'd probably be right.

"Hopefully you'll understand some day," she simply remarks, watching as I stand up to leave. I just need to find Bo and the girls, and hopefully that'll be enough to clear my head for a little while. "And… I'm sorry, Clementine. Really – I mean it. Hopefully you can find it within yourself to believe that."

I barely register her words before hurriedly rushing out into the hallway to find the three of them waiting along the wall opposite from each other; leaving Debbie alone in the cafeteria.

"How'd it go?" Bo asks, just getting a head shake from me as he decides to leave that topic alone. No use in scarring Ellie and Riley. "So, you ready to help me out? Most of 'em are down on the lower level waiting for us – I set up a little firing range we can use. You know, garbage cans and whatnot."

"Okay… yeah," I nod, trying (and failing) to hold myself together as I lean against the wall for support. I tell Bo to get walking downstairs before he starts growing grey hair, to which he just playfully punches me on the shoulder and does as I've suggested. "I'll be down in a bit…"

I watch until Bo disappears through the doorway by punching in a code; leaving it open for us to follow as Riley starts trailing after him. Ellie starts to jog ahead as well, but she stops and turns around with confusion when I don't immediately follow suit.

"I'm alright – no worries…" I lie again, now seeing Luke and Nick trying to pull me forward. I am so _not _alright. "You go on ahead, Ellie. I'll catch up."

Not looking too convinced, Ellie hesitantly does as I've said and runs up beside Riley; no doubt talking about why I'm acting so strangely as they turn the corner and head down the stairs.

Trust me, you two – it's definitely not just me trying to forget. It's becoming flat-out impossible with all of these dead people playing tricks on my mind.

"Elephants…" I whisper to myself, closing my eyes before venturing down the hallway at a snail's pace. "Pink… elephants…"


	21. Luck (Please don't crash!)

_Time to answer them reviews!_

_Rebloxic: Well good, I was hoping that I didn't screw up your OC or anything lol_

_Guest: Thank you sir/ma'am! It's always worth it to know that you guys are enjoying this thing so much!_

_Clemmyclue19: Lol yes – the first step is admitting you have a problem… at least I think that's what it is. And we're not out of the woods yet!_

_LordSkarlet: We're nearing the finale of this pretty soon, so expect things to get pretty cray-cray coming up :D _

_EmilyRose727: Lmao yeah, I'm not so sure their kid would turn out that great either :P They'd be a raging alcoholic by the time they turned four…_

_VictoriaSW: Cool, thanks for that – I was starting to worry about whether I was screwing up Ellie's character or not. She'd be different at a younger age obviously, but I just wasn't sure._

_Two things before we get started here – first off, the ending's going to be coming pretty soon, and I'm debating on creating a sequel or not for this. I'm thinking that it'd most likely take place about eight years in the future or something like that, but would you guys be interested in seeing it? Lemme know!_

_Secondly, this chapter's going to be kind of long, so I'm gonna bold the POV's so that it doesn't get too confusing for you guys. Anyway, that's it._

_**Jane's POV**_

"Highway's gonna be jammed up tight," Tommy remarks from the back seat, causing me to look towards him in the rear-view mirror. "There'll be abandoned cars blocking the roads, and if we try walking it'll take too long. Not to mention everything that could sneak up on us. Best to go around."

Looking to Lilly for some confirmation, she simply shrugs her shoulders and tells me that we might as well do as he suggested. Gee, thanks for the help, Lilly…

"I take it you used to live around here before?" I comment, turning the wheel around so that it can take us to the back roads. Lilly rolls down the window and points to the direction we're going so that Derek and the lot of them aren't confused.

Nodding, the man gives a one-over at Bryce to make sure that he's still behaving like a good little boy. Once he's ensured that he's asleep, Tommy stares out the window as rows of trees roll by.

"Yep, sure did. I grew up in Austin with my family some miles in the other direction. It was beautiful once," he recalls absent-mindedly; frowning as if he's reliving some horrible memory that he wants to conceal.

"What happened to it?" Lilly asks while flipping through the car radio dials, even though there's really no point anymore. "I'm guessing that it got overrun like everywhere else?"

"More or less, yeah," he nods as he looks back towards us. "For a while, the military was keeping the city under martial law, and everyone thought that it was only temporary; that everything would get sorted out and they'd be able to go back to their homes. After about a year of putting up with that bullshit, some of us tried to get out – Austin was on permanent lockdown from the outside world at the time."

Making sure not to drive over a pothole, I swerve the car back into the middle of the road and sigh as a walker tries to get at us. We speed right past him and move forward.

"The people there were assholes; dictators with huge sticks up their asses, but nobody would be able to touch them with all the weapons they had. They thought that just because they could shoot us to kingdom come that they had the authority to rule over us," he explains with a salty taste in his mouth, scrunching up his face with anger. "That's when people started turning on each other – for food, supplies, some twisted enjoyment, it didn't matter. That place was a living hell."

"Well, it's not really much better out here either," I remind him, speeding along at about seventy miles an hour.

For the short period of time that we've actually been on the road, I've got to say that it's been pretty dull. Lilly's constantly trying to strike up a conversation (which I _really _didn't expect considering it's her) in order to stop it from being so quiet in here. Usually it's just been between me and her, but this is the first that I've heard Tommy say a damn word all day. I was starting to think he was mute or something.

"I guess it's just more pronounced in the cities," Tommy shrugs, probably not used to being out in the countryside like the rest of us. "My brother and I tried to make it out at one point, but he…"

When the man suddenly stops speaking, there's only one thing that I can assume happened to this mysterious brother of his – the same shit that happens to everyone. Under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn't push it… but the way he trailed off…

It's almost as if he _wants _to tell us, but can't force himself to do it. Maybe I ought to help squeeze the truth out a little bit – I've found it's better to just talk to someone about it rather than bottling it all up.

Clementine taught me that once…

"Is he, umm… well…" I mutter, trying my best not to offend him or anything.

To my surprise, he shrugs his shoulders again before checking in on our tour guide to make sure he hasn't tried to pull a gun out or anything.

"Depends on your definition of dead," he states simply, dropping the conversation as I wonder what that could possibly mean.

….

Jesus… no wonder people always used to take the highway if they wanted to get from Dallas to Houston! This is literally taking _forever! _

Now don't get me wrong – I like being with people that I don't just want to strangle all the time. But sitting in this car for over four hours without stopping is making my legs cramp up, and Lilly's asleep so I can't exactly convince her to drive. A cranky Lilly is never a good thing to have, believe me.

Thankfully, with only a few abandoned cars sitting about and not having to worry about pedestrians, I've been able to drive with one hand while resting my other arm beside the window. There's still a fairly large crack on the front windshield from Lilly and I jumping down to scare the shit out of Bryce the other day, but I can see perfectly fine.

Trouble is, I'm really struggling to keep my eyes open. Every now and again they'll droop down, at least until I remember what I'm doing and snap myself back awake. Unfortunately, this is happening a lot more frequently and… _yawn_… ugh, it's happening again…

Maybe just a little nap wouldn't… hurt… Zzzz…

…

…zzz…

_BAM!_

"OH SHIT!" I curse, alerting everyone in the car as I slam on the brakes and bang my head off the back of the headrest. Cringing, I rub the back of my skull as I hear the buzzer go off on the radio attached to Lilly's pants.

"_Bzzt… We've stopped, what's going on?"_

"Give it here," I tell her, snatching the radio as I look out the back window. "Nothing, just fell asleep at the wheel for a sec and hit something, I think."

There's blood smattered all over the windshield now, and I carefully open the front door to hop out onto the dirt road. Placing one hand on the truck, I bend down to inspect the damages.

Road kill – by the looks of it, this thing is (was, I suppose) some kind of possum. Shuddering as I look upon its deceased corpse, I step back into the car but leave the door open to get some air in here. Thank god that animals don't come back to life, too…

Hearing a big sigh on the other end of the line, I see Derek step out of the truck along with everyone else, including the vehicle behind him, so I run my hands through my short hair and get ready for a good tongue lashing.

Fortunately for me, it doesn't come.

"Might as well take a break," Derek suggests while rolling his arms back to stretch. "They can't exactly pack this place up and leave."

The lights go on in the back as Tommy and Bryce hope out as well, but Lorna immediately gives us a look that tells us to restrain the guy. Rolling my eyes, I pop open the trunk and take out a big roll of duct tape; not having any rope to tie him with now.

"Sorry about this…" I mutter, wrapping his arms securely behind his back.

Scoffing, Bryce shakes his head as he lifelessly stares at the ground. It's kind of sad how he's not even bothering to resist at this point – all the fight's gone within him.

"No you're not," he replies quietly, making me feel ten times worse. "Not yet…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demand, though not raising my voice as to not draw too much attention to ourselves. No use in getting him beaten up again. I force him to sit on a nearby rock, bending down and tilting his chin up to get a better look at the guy. "What do you mean _not yet_? What, are you gonna try killing one of us?"

"Yeah, because that worked out _so well _the last time…" he replies sarcastically, giving me a small glare. "Do you people even have a clue where we are right now? Could you even begin to take a guess?"

Glancing about, the only things that I really notice are the trees, lots of hilly grasslands, the dirt road and some wild flowers up on the hill. That's where Lilly and Tommy are right now actually.

"Unless the shrubs are going to grow legs and attack me," I suggest, wearing a doubtful smirk, "I'd say we're pretty safe here, bub."

"Mind your surroundings, Jane. This is raider territory – Hunter territory, to be exact."

"Oh, is that what they're calling themselves now?" I chuckle, shaking my head as I sit back on the dirt. I suppose that _somebody's _got to watch him for now. "And here I thought that bandits were just a bunch of assholes with guns. Now they're still assholes with guns, but they've got NAMES now too!"

Uncorking my water bottle, I take a swig of it before closing it up again; returning my gaze to Tommy and Lilly. The two of them seem to be having a good time up there, but as much as I love seeing my girl having fun instead of being miserable all the time… I kind of wish that it was with _me_.

Bryce looks over with a blank expression – not seemingly that interested in what's going on, but silently asking me what I think of those two being around each other. Choosing to turn the other cheek, I offer the water bottle out to Bryce.

"Why?" he simply asks, looking at me as if I've poisoned it or something – he did just see me drink out of it, didn't he?

"What, do you think I've got cooties or something?" I mock, encouraging him as I hold it closer to his face. "Go on, have a sip. Consider it a sort of peace offering."

"Hmph… we're way past the "peaceful" stage."

"It's gonna get even hotter out eventually," I remind him, watching as he caves and slowly nods his head. Tilting the bottle back and letting it run down his dry mouth, Bryce mumbles in approval as he swallows the liquid and sits back to where he was before.

Now, I'm sure that you find this all _very _exciting and whatnot, but this entire time I've been thinking and trying to picture in my head what this place is gonna be like. Will it just be a shit-show like everywhere else, or will this place finally be somewhere that we could stay for the long haul? I'm not talking just a few months at a time here anymore, I mean actually live here for years to come. At some point, we've gotta settle down and have a place that we can actually call home. Before arriving at Howe's, I was almost convinced that it couldn't be done – that nowhere in this world was safe and that we were all gonna die sooner rather than later.

Then I met Clementine, and my feelings started to change. It was slow at first, but something told me that this wasn't just some random girl that I could brush off as another doomed kid destined for the chopping block. Sure, I may have told her that everyone's luck runs out eventually, but once I left… I had to convince myself that maybe our fates could change. What if I could make my own luck? I mean, aside from Kenny (that fucker) and maybe one or two others, that was actually the best group I had been in for nearly a year.

But when it came back down to the two of us on our own… those same doubts crept back. How was a lunatic like me, an eleven year old girl and a baby going to survive? And even if we did, for how long? Sure, we were smart, but plenty of smart people have still gotten eaten. The walkers don't judge – they just eat and move on.

Sure, AJ may not have made it in the end (which, as bad as it sounds, probably would've and could've happened in a million different scenarios), but Clem, Lilly and I kept going. If the fact that we made across a good chunk of the States as well as parts of Mexico and back isn't a sign that we can make it out in this world, then I don't know what is.

I just need to keep making my own luck…

"I'll swap with ya, Miss Jane," a voice interrupts my train of thought, and I scowl in suspicion as the Boston lady, Lorna, magically appears beside me. She's got a piece of grass hanging out of her mouth (probably trying to fit the part of a country woman or something, I don't know), and a small smirk on her face. That black biker jacket is getting pretty dusty on her, and I'm pretty sure the purple jeans have morphed into her legs with how much she wears them. "You go on and watch your girlfriend flirt with the cute guy up in the fields. Don't worry – I'm sure that flustered look on ya face is just my imagination."

"Fuck off," I tell her emotionlessly; practically spewing out a swear word as if it's just like breathing. It pretty much is at this point. For good measure, as well, I give her the finger as I tiredly rub my eyes together. "How'd you know we were together, anyway?"

"Please, kiddo, it was ridiculously obvious! You two lovebirds practically had bright, neon signs above your heads!"

"What's your angle here?" I suddenly question, standing up to meet her height face to face. "You're the camp's second, so what now? Are you just gonna gun Derek down and claim the leadership for yourself?"

"I love dat man!"

"Ha! _Dat's_ a load of bullshit and we both know it," I chuckle mirthlessly, making fun of her ridiculously funny accent. It's like she's permanently stuck in the 50s or something. "I should fucking expose you right now…"

"It's your word against mine, sugar," she shrugs, patting me on the shoulder. "Let's do a little reality check 'ere, shall we? I'm Derek's girlfriend – G.I.R.L.F.R.I.N.D. As in, we're together and tell each other everything. Get dat? He knows all about me, and he knows fully well dat I want to lead at some point. I could just as easily get you and Lils over there shot dead with what I know. So if I was you, I'd keep my yapper closed and hope to sweet baby Jesus that I don't spill the beans."

Knowing fully well that Bryce is also listening in on our conversation, I clench my fists but hold my tongue as I simply glare at the woman.

"Good girl," she smirks cockily, and before I can leave she snatches my wrist in a tight grip. "One more thing, lady… I'm droppin' that favour that I asked of y'all."

I think that I might need to clean my ears out, because I could've sworn that I just heard that she _no longer wants _a favour. Seriously? What the hell? I would've totally milked this for everything that it's worth, especially with the knowledge that could potentially destroy me…

Unless…

"Consider it a long-term investment," she quickly remarks before shooing me away. "Don't make me regret this, you hear? I ain't normally this generous."

Walking away, a small grin reaches my face as I realize it – Lorna finally realizes how dangerous I can be. I thought for certain that she'd want to get rid of anyone standing in her way of getting to the top, but she knows that gunning the both of us down would not only paint her badly, but also end up killing her in the process. This camp is a lot smaller than it once was, and things are noticed a lot more easily now.

If she had realized this earlier, then Lorna probably would've tried to kill us right after that whole fiasco with Henry. She missed her chance at the perfect kill.

Now that right there is gonna help me sleep a little bit easier.

Breathing deeply, I casually stroll up the hill towards where Tommy and Lilly are still talking – hopefully it's completely platonic and friendly.

…

_**Clem's POV**_

"Okay… you're okay, you can do this…" I whisper to myself, breathing deeply as I look around at the room full of people. There's got to be at least thirty in here, but to me it seems like there are way more – that's probably just the nerves talking, though. Bo's standing beside me with his hands behind his back, and I really want to kill him right now. WHY WON'T HE SAY ANYTHING?!

"Umm… hi," I wave meekly, suddenly feeling a lot less confident than I was before I got downstairs. It's one thing to try and help a couple of young kids, but it's entirely different to try and teach something to a room full of strangers. I don't know how teachers could do this stuff every day. "Uhh… well, today we're gonna show you how to use… use guns…"

"Tell them your name," Bo whispers to me, looking as though he's thoroughly enjoying the torment he's forcing me through.

"Oh, right… M-my name's Clementine…"

"Speak up, darling!" an older lady suddenly shouts, startling me as I see her holding her hand up. "My ears aren't exactly what they used to be, dearie!"

Nodding feverishly, I start to get the jitters as I stare at a sea of humans. Included are some dead guys from my imagination, but those aren't even bugging me right now with how nervous I've gotten. Even Riley and Ellie look as though they're feeling bad for me, as they watch from the back of the room.

Suddenly, though, after feeling Bo's encouraging hand upon my shoulder, I look up and see that he believes in me. He wouldn't have given me that whole pep talk about being a leader if he didn't think I could do it, and the jitterbugs in my stomach start to dissipate. Kind of.

"Clem here can shoot with the best of them – I've seen it," he praises, causing me to lower my gaze in embarrassment. "She's helped me up on the roof with defending this place, and the way I heard it, she saved the two new young ones from getting attacked out in the street."

"Actually, they saved me," I smile, waving at Ellie and Riley as they swing their legs back and forth from their spot on the worktable.

Bo, seeming impressed, nods and gives the two of them a big thumbs up in appreciation. Ellie's face goes as red as her hair as Riley tries to ignore the glances of basically everyone.

I've gotta say, they're pretty freaking cute when they want to be.

"So anyways," Bo gets back on track, "Clementine's gonna lead the instruction on proper gun training – mostly the basics like hand positions, how to correctly fire and reload, where to aim, etc."

"I'll take half of you on the left," I say, feeling a little bit more comfortable with a smaller group. Bo's in charge on the right. "Okay, umm… can you guys get in a line in front of me? We don't have a ton of bullets, so you'll get about three shots each."

"Mind if I go first then? Just to get it out of the way?"

Inwardly groaning but outwardly remaining neutral, I silently nod as James steps up beside me; ready but not really wanting to do this. I forgot how uncomfortable he was around guns.

Grabbing the pistol off of the chair, I hand the device to him as I slowly start to explain what to do.

"Use your better hand to pull the trigger," I tell him, watching as he correctly places his hands on the weapon. "Reload by pulling that slot back, don't lock your elbows, let out a breath as you fire."

_BAM! BAM!_

Angrily grabbing the pistol out of his hands, I try to keep my cool as I glare up at the doctor. I don't care that he nailed both targets, he can't just go off firing guns like that!

"What the hell?!" I demand, reloading the gun as I put two fresh bullets into the weapon. "I didn't say you could shoot yet! Why didn't you wait?! You could've hurt someone!"

"I've done this before," he explains simply, gesturing to the rest of the room to silently tell me to cool my jets. Taking a deep breath, I grind my teeth together and try not to have a total meltdown.

Can you believe that I still have like fourteen more people to go after this?!

"If you know how to shoot a gun," I state, still cross with him even after that talk with Debbie, "then why are you here? Shouldn't you be working on your _experiments _or something?"

"I came to support _you, _actually," he sighs, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "It took a little bit of convincing, of course, but… I didn't want us to be on thin ice with each other forever. Having someone be constantly angry at you isn't fun, let me tell you."

"…ugh, fine, whatever… Good shot, just wait for me next time," I tell him, making him go wait at the back as I usher the next person forward. I think dealing with all of this shit is giving me a headache.

Regardless, it's gotta get done.

"Okay… yep, you've got it," I grin, trying to seem less angry than I was before. "So, always remember – it's just a thing…"

…

As the lines finally shorten and the last person working with me shoots a handful of bullets, I breathe out a sigh of relief. Although there's definitely some room for improvement, and Bo having to drill it into their heads that these are just trash bins, not walkers, I think that actually went pretty well. Nobody got shot (though I came pretty close when one of the grandpas got a little trigger-happy), and I get the feeling that most people are gonna feel a little bit safer from now on.

Not too shabby for my first real crack at this leadership thing!

"Awesome job, guys! I can already see some improvements!" Bo acknowledges, causing a bunch of people to roll their eyes at him.

"Well, I should hope so," one woman says, causing me to chuckle. "We barely knew what a gun was before all of this!"

"Yeah, but now you're more familiar and comfortable around them, aren't you?" Bo questions, causing her to nod in acceptance. "That was the whole point of this exercise – get you used to them so that you don't need to be as afraid. The world out there's not a safe place to be, and that's exactly why we need to protect ourselves. What if a group of bandits decide to come raiding our home again?"

_They'd get pumped full of chemical shit, _I think to myself bitterly, looking pointedly at James as he tries to focus his attention on Bo. I hope he at least feels bad about what he's doing, and hopefully he'll stop it as soon as possible.

"Anyway, if you want to keep practicing down here on your own time, feel free. Just remember to have someone down here with you – you never know what could creep up on you," Bo advises, dismissing the crowd as he starts to collect the weapons.

Bringing the two pistols I used over to him, I make sure that the safeties are turned on before handing them over.

"Well, that went pretty well, didn't it?" he smirks; rubbing my head like Reggie awkwardly did back at Howe's. Bo doesn't really seem to care though. "See? I told you that you could do this stuff. No problem."

"They still treat me like a kid," I point out, not really bothered by it that much because it technically is true. Still though, it's disheartening to see that people don't usually take me seriously – Bo's the rare exception.

"You did great out there," he reaffirms, shaking his head as he zips the bag up and prepares to head upstairs. "Don't let that stuff bother you – these folks didn't trust me at first either, and I'm a hell of a lot older than you. Just give 'em some time."

"If you say so," I shrug, not really convinced at this point.

Deciding that it'd be best just to leave the trash bins where they are (as they're already full of holes), Bo and I turn to leave this damp, dreary basement level.

Only to nearly run into the little redhead and her cheerful companion.

"Can, umm… can we try?" Riley asks, looking over at Ellie as she nods. Bo looks shocked that they'd even have the guts to ask this. "We wanna be tough like you!"

Damn… should've figured this was coming at some point or another. Are you happy now, Lee? You trained me, and now I'm supposed to train these little rascals? Is that what this is?

"_Sure is, sweet pea," _he answers, causing me to start re-evaluating my sanity. I can't be this crazy, can I?

Ugh… I guess that I am, as I pull a pistol out from my back pocket and hold it in my hands. Bo's not impressed.

"I know what I said about how your age didn't matter," he remarks, eyeing the weapon as he sizes up the little girls, "but I'm pretty sure there's a limit."

"I started when I was nine," I shrug, not really seeing the harm if either he or I are here watching them. "Might as well start early, right?"

"Please, mister?" Riley begs, puffing out her bottom lip like a master. She's conquered the art of the puppy dog look – the both of them, I can tell.

Sniff… I'm so proud!

Even though I can see that he's still unconvinced, Bo relents as he holds his hands up in front of him.

"If this goes south, it's on you," he points out as I grin and the girls shout in excitement and anticipation. They probably think that this is the coolest thing they've ever gotten to do.

But, first things first – we need to lay out some ground rules.

"Ellie, Riley," I tell them firmly, looking at them with a serious face, "this isn't a toy, understand? These can be more dangerous than that switchblade I gave you. Do you still have that, by the way?"

"Yeppers!" Ellie exclaims, pulling the object out and flicking it open proudly. "I know how it works now!"

"I know you do," I nod, remembering how she saved my butt back in that apartment room. "But this is different – bullets are a lot faster, and they can go off if you're not using it properly. You always have to be careful around them, and just remember – only use it if you're trying to hurt someone."

Both of their faces fall as the excitement starts to disappear; looking down steadily. I'm such a buzzkill sometimes, I swear… Probably got that from Lilly…

"I don't want to do that…" Riley shakes her head.

"Yeah," Ellie nods in agreement, "I don't wanna hurt anyone…"

Without even thinking about it, I set Riley up to go first; adjusting her arms, aim and everything else as Bo watches from a safe distance away. I don't even realize what I'm saying, because right now I'm far too distracted.

I'm distracted because it's no longer Riley and I shooting guns… it's Sarah and I. I'm back in the cabin up in her room; showing her the correct posture and repeating all of the things that Lee had taught me. I can't get this scenario out of my head – Riley's grown a little bit taller than me, has red-rimmed glasses and has sported a baby-blue jacket and jeans.

"_I thought it'd be heavier," _she says, cocking her head to the side as she looks out the window. _"Hmm… what should I shoot?"_

I stare wide-eyed at her; not bothering to duck as the gun comes my way. I'm far too mesmerized into what's happening to care about my safety or not.

How the hell is she still alive?

"I… I left you…" I whisper, unable to believe what I'm witnessing right now. "In the trailer park… we couldn't get you to move…"

"Huh? Clem, you're scaring me," Sarah says worriedly, but that worry is replaced by a tinge of happiness in an instant. "We're friends! Right?! We could be best friends!"

"Y-yeah… best friends…" I nod, slowly drifting away as I'm interrupted by Bo's voice ringing in my ears.

Shaking my head, I realize that I'm no longer in the cabin, and that Sarah doesn't even exist anymore. It's Riley with me now, along with two of my other friends, and they all seem pretty freaked out. I wouldn't blame them with the way that things have been going lately – why the hell does this keep happening?!

"Just, uhh… yeah, that's right. You've got it…" I trail off, focusing again on Riley as she takes her first shot. It's not a direct hit, but it snips the side of the can, and honestly I hadn't even expected the bullet to go anywhere near the target. "Nice one! Don't worry, that shaky feeling will go away eventually."

After about five more bullets, Bo and I congratulate the young kid on a job well done. She'll be a pro in no time at this rate.

Ellie's next.

"You ready for this?" I ask, handing her the weapon as she looks at it extremely nervously. "If you're not ready, then we can try this another time. There's no pressure, Ellie."

Most likely wanting to impress and do everything that Riley does, Ellie gulps and steps up to the shooting range; gun in hand as I set her up.

"Okay… nice and easy…" I encourage, holding her ears just as Lee did for me all that time ago.

"Nice… and easy…"

_BAM!_

Geez, you'd think that Ellie's almost an exact clone of what I once was! She even got the squeak part down as well!

"This thing's scary!" Ellie says, frightened as she quickly hands the weapon back to me and shakes her head. "It's so loud!"

Looking over at Bo, he scratches his chin as he ponders what we can do about this. I don't want to damage her self-esteem by just leaving without helping her out, and that's when I see Bo snap his fingers as he walks back to his bag.

"Maybe she'll be more comfortable using this?" he suggests, pulling out some kind of foldable bow that I didn't know he had. Handing me the object along with four arrows, he leans back on the table with his arms folded. "It's almost silent – I'd use it for hunting trips sometimes."

Holding the thing in my hands, I examine the bowstring along with the curved handle that reminds me of those Lord of the Rings movies that my Dad used to watch.

"Bo," I point out, holding it out for him to take back, "I've got no idea how to use this thing. I've never even seen one before!"

"Might as well start early, right?"

"Don't be a dick," I chuckle while shaking my head in amusement. Using my own words against me… you're so _hilarious_, Bo. A real comedian.

But as Ellie takes the bow (ha! A bow from Bo!) in her hands and pulls the string back without an arrow notched in, for some reason I feel like she was born ready to use this thing. She really has no clue what she's doing, but it's probably better than what I would've been doing.

These kids are naturals – I'm sure they'll be alright.

But will I?

_AN: I'm sorry this chapter keeps getting erased, there have been some technical difficulties but hopefully this won't continue to happen. _


	22. Arriving at the gates of hell

_AN: Sorry about all that disappearing chapter nonsense last time – it's up there now though and hopefully it'll stay. Something was going wrong with the site I think, but anyways it's done now so whatever. Here's the next chapter._

_**Lilly's POV**_

"…and that's pretty much why I ended up in the construction industry," Tommy finishes saying as I try going over all of the details – and failing. He really goes in depth with his stories, that's for sure.

Mine aren't nearly as exciting as his seem to be.

"Hmph, never thought that you'd be in the construction business," I comment, plucking a wild flower from the ground as I twirl it within my fingers.

"Oh really? Well, what did you think I was doing then?"

"I dunno – just… not that."

Chuckling slightly, Tommy scratches the back of his head as he speaks again. "Yeah, well I was in line to be heading the whole company until this shit started piling up. I actually got my big brother a job with one of them contractors back in the day…"

"You mentioned him earlier," I remark, trying not to overstep my boundaries. "Sounds like he was really important to you."

Pausing for a moment, the man frowns sadly as the creases on his forehead grow deeper. Thinking that he probably doesn't want to talk about it, I go back to staring at the flowers in order to avoid the obviously touchy subject.

"I'm sorry," I apologize quietly, not really sounding that sincere. I've never been one to easily forgive or be forgiven, so naturally I'm not very good at this kind of stuff. "I umm… shouldn't have asked."

"We just didn't get along all the time… had our fair share of spats in the past," he explains with a shrug. "He got married straight out of high school and had a kid shortly after… She was such a… a beautiful little girl. When all of the dead started walking around… well, she got shot by some fucking asshole soldier. I killed the bastard but… it was too late. My brother was never the same after that."

"…they're not all like that, you know."

"What d'ya mean?" Tommy asks, his Texan accent giving me pause.

Thinking back to my military background – well, more my _Dad's _military background – makes me a little bit biased towards the soldiers who risked their lives every day for our country, but I'm not going to hide behind that. I'm not ashamed of who I used to be, even though secretarial work wasn't exactly high on my list of jobs that I wanted to pursue.

"I'm saying in this case, it might just be one bad apple that spoiled the bunch," I tell him, trying not to offend him as he gets ready to fire back. "I know, Tommy, I know. What that guy did was horrible, and it never should've happened. But not every person's the same, and we've all had to do things that we're not proud of."

"That fucker didn't have to kill her! There was no reason to shoot a little girl in cold blood like that!"

"I'm gonna assume that he _didn't_ shoot her for no reason," I insinuate, watching as he struggles to find the right words to say. "I know that's not what you wanna hear… but people die all the time. Shit, I'm sorry 'bout your niece, I really am. But everybody's lost someone."

I can tell that he's getting kind of agitated as he shuts his eyes and rubs the bridge of his nose, but if this helps him out in the long run, then so be it. The truth hurts sometimes and we both know it. Turning to face me again, I retain my calm expression as he tries to do the same.

"So what the hell are you sayin' then?" he asks with fervour. "Are you telling me that I should just forgive and forget? Pretend that that son o' a bitch didn't murder my niece and shatter my brother to pieces?"

"You don't have to forgive him," I advise, shrugging my shoulders, "just stop holding a grudge. Not all people are the same, you know."

Balling his hands into fists, Tommy contorts his face in anger as he prepares to stomp off; making his way down the hill before turning back to me with a small glare.

"You know what Lilly?" he asks, disappointment etched into his words. "Up until just now, I was about to think the same thing. But people aren't different at all."

Great job, Lilly. You've pissed yet another person off – what does that one make, like 350 now or something like that? I can pretty much count every person that I've ever known to that list… but this time I'm not regretting it. I'm too stubborn for my own good sometimes, but Tommy will thank me for that one day.

You see, I went through the same thing; that feeling of anger and hatred against everything and everybody. After Dad died and I took off in the RV, I felt nothing but white-hot, bubbling rage. The whole world was out to get me; planning shit behind my back and always looking for ways to break me down.

And you know what? For a long time it actually did.

"Heya," Jane calls up to me as she walks up the hill. I grab her hand as she makes the last few steps; intertwining her fingers in mine as I drag her into the flower patch. "Soooo… I probably shouldn't even ask this, but Tommy…"

"He's pissed at me," I shrug, not really caring considering that he's still practically a stranger to us. "I may have said some things that he really didn't want to hear, but it'll do him some good in the long haul. I'm pretty sure at least."

"Alright… so… you and him were just… talking then?"

"Yeah, why?" I ask, but sputtering out in laughter as I immediately clue in to what she's trying to say. Jane frowns as I continue to chuckle; shoving off my hand as she folds her arms across her chest. "Oh my fucking god… this is rich… this is really rich!"

Huffing, Jane looks indignant as she rolls her eyes at me. "I don't see what's so funny about any of this."

Laughing some more, I dodge her hand as I grab her cheek and tug it back and forth a little bit in a teasing manner.

"You're jealous! That's what this is!" I smirk; my grin only getting bigger as she swats my hand away. "Holy hell… out of the two of us, I really didn't expect _you _to be the one who got like this, no offense."

Drying my eyes as my breathing starts to settle, I hear silence on the other end, and turn to see that Jane is less than amused with me. Okay, maybe I stepped over the line there just a _tiny _bit.

Awesome! Jane's number 351!

"Are you finished yet?"

"Jane, come on," I remark, unable to see how this could be a problem. "That guy? Seriously? I talked to him for maybe ten minutes! Besides, I've already got somebody special in my life – I don't need another."

"You do? Who is this fucker?! I'll tear them apart!" Jane jokes, sticking her tongue out at me as I rub her knee with my thumb. Seriously, I can't tell where the jokes are ending and where the seriousness is starting at this point.

"That'd be you, dumb ass!" I roll my eyes, leaning back far enough so that my hair's brushing against the flower petals. "Honestly, Jane, what's this all about? Why do you think I'd cheat on you?"

Looking rather squeamish about the whole thing, Jane shrugs before plucking a flower and twirling it up into the wind as it flies freely.

"I don't really know," she confesses, giving me an apologetic grin. "…well, he's got nice hair, I guess."

I have to repeat that over in my head to make sure that I just heard right.

"Are you fucking serious?"

Jane giggles as I look on in disbelief; probably realizing how stupid that sounds as she says it aloud. Nice hair… I'll have to remember that one someday. It'll probably go on my list of "Worst Possible Excuses for Acting Irrationally" or something of the sort. Does she really think I'm as shallow as to go after someone else because of something dumb like that?

Glancing down the hill, I get a mischievous glint in my eyes and decide to mess around with the girl a little bit… not what you're thinking, believe me. There's a time and place for everything, as I've said before.

"Well, now that you mention it," I comment, fully expecting the shocked look she gives me, "he does have some pretty nice flow going on. It's almost like Thor with the way he twirls his head around. Should I go ask him what kind of shampoo he used to use?"

"Lilly!"

"See how ridiculous it sounds?" I ask, watching as Jane's face falters a little bit. "I'd never do anything like that to you, get that? You're stuck with me, girlie, whether you want to punch me in the nose or not."

Not saying anything else, the two of us simply drop the topic altogether as we gaze out into the horizon – nothing but grassy hills as far as the eye can see. It's amazing how something so incredible can still survive when almost everything else has been destroyed. There are no walkers that I can tell, no cars and nothing to detract from the beauty of this place. I'm kind of out of my element here though, aren't I? Sitting with Jane out in an open field and just… relaxing. I don't do relaxing, least of all when we're not in some kind of shelter.

Moments like these don't last and are few and far between, but that's precisely why I choose to remember each one. Caring about someone… it's changed me forever. My outlook on life has done a complete 180, and I think that's relieved Jane in a lot of ways.

I wasn't always so positive about going on with life.

"I do have OCD," I suddenly blurt out, not entirely sure why I'm telling her this. That kind of came out of left field. "Back at Clem's house, when we were sorting through that stuff and I was making sure that the house was secure? You were right, and I lied about it to cover it up. Explains a lot, doesn't it?"

"How long have you had it for?" she questions, genuinely interested as she looks over at me with concern.

Tilting my head up to the clouds as I try to recall, my memory jogs back to the days of my youth. It wasn't easy growing up in the same house as my Dad (not that he was ever really there early on), but the day I got diagnosed was just adding salt to the wounds. "I must've been nine or ten at the time," I tell her while shaking my head. "I used to try and straighten up every picture frame we had in the house, and I'd never just be satisfied with the fact that they'd never be completely perfect. That was just the beginning."

There were a lot of memories of my childhood that I refuse, flat-out refuse, to go back to – most of them are just too painful. A lot of them involve screaming matches, shattering glass and a swift slap across the head. _Why can't you just be fucking normal?! _That got tossed around quite a bit from my mother whenever she'd be in a drunken rage. I realized much later that she often didn't mean the things she said, and that her getting drunk was just a way to cope with the fact that she had to raise me alone. But it still pained me… and I promised myself that if I was ever lucky enough to have a kid of my own, I'd never treat them that way; not in a million years.

I think any chance of that happening just flew out the window, but I'm content. Something about being with Jane just overwrites the desire to raise a family out in this hell of a world. This isn't a place for kids to grow up in; not here, not out in the wilds.

Besides, if Jane and I were to ever raise a child of our own, I'm pretty sure the thing would turn into a swearing, raging alcoholic by the time it turned four years old (_thanks, Emily Rose lol_).

"Well, you certainly manage to keep me in line. So there's a plus," Jane mentions, getting a friendly punch on the shoulder from me. "But that must've been tough."

"It was," I nod in agreement, but not wanting to go into any mushy shit as I straighten up a little bit. Feelings are definitely not either of our specialties, and that's a bit of an understatement. I'm pretty sure you'd be at it all day trying to get the two of us to express our feelings. "Anyway, are we about ready to go?"

"In a rush to get there, are we? I'm not sure – I'm pretty sure they don't trust me after crashing into a possum earlier."

"That's what it was?"

"Pretty sure, at least. Regardless, I haven't built up anybody's confidence with my driving," she chuckles, pulling out a bent picture of her and her sister as she studies it carefully. "Did I ever tell you about the time Jaime and I rode in a Lambo around the street?"

Shaking my head, I smirk as she reminisces on the past. By the way her face lit up just now, I'd say that she's got a lot of fond memories of Jaime, even though she admitted to being kicked out of the house a long time ago.

"I had just gotten my license the week before, and Jaime and I were wandering around downtown one day bored out of our skulls. We turned the corner and saw it – this awesome red Lamborghini just sitting there in the parking lot. So, naturally, I did what any other eighteen year old teen would do."

"You didn't…" I remark, groaning as she nods her head. Who would've thought that my girl used to be a juvenile delinquent?

"Jaime didn't want to, but I dragged her inside. The guy who owned it left the keys inside for some reason, so I hopped into the driver's seat and revved the engine," she explains, pretending to be driving the vehicle as she grips an imaginary steering wheel. The sight of her not having as many fingers saddens me, but thankfully she doesn't notice. "We thought we were so cool, driving around the block like that. There was actually a cop on one of the street corners, but he just glanced our way for a second and then moved on without a word."

"Did you get caught?" I ask, causing her to snort as she tells me the next part of her tale.

"The owner was standing out in the parking lot when we came back," she says, causing me to put a hand to my mouth. "I thought we were done for, and that I'd be sitting in jail for a good while – we were pretty young, so it all seemed like we were completely fucked. Turns out the guy was so shocked that we actually brought it back, that he just took the keys and left. Never heard from him again, never got the cops called on us – nothing. Jaime and I only ever brought it up when we were alone."

This is absurd. She got caught stealing by the _actual person she stole it from_, and nothing came of it? Not even a slap on the wrist?!

What the fuck is this bullshit?!

"I had to sit in the mall security office for three hours over snatching a chocolate bar," I reply, causing her to chuckle as I shake my head in disbelief, "but you get off the hook for stealing a Lambo?!"

"I liked to think of it as _borrowing_," she tells me as I run my fingers through my hair. So damn unfair…

I'm about to say something else, but that's when we start to hear the shouting coming from behind us. Turning around, I immediately hiss for Jane to get on her stomach as we hide in the flowers; watching with anger as a group of bandits holds up our group at gunpoint.

Fucking typical.

"You folks are in the wrong neighbourhood," their leader smiles devilishly behind a red bandana and sunglasses. He reminds me a lot of those assholes at the motor-inn all that time ago. "You're in our house now, so I suggest you empty your pockets and give us your rations. You wouldn't want any blood to be spilled over something like this now, would y'all?"

"Hunters," Jane spits, glancing over to me as I look at her curiously. "Bryce was telling me about them – apparently they're organized groups of bandits or some shit."

"Organized?"

"They're smarter and more united than your average group of bandits," she explains, though not really believing it herself. These guys all look the same to me. "At least, that's what Bryce told me. Apparently his crew used to run with them out here."

Narrowing my eyes, I pull out my pistol and turn the safety off; ready to aim and fire at anyone that I can get at from here. I need to make this a clean shot.

"Is that so? Well, one thing's for sure – they'll bleed like everyone else," I snarl, closing one eye as I prepare to make the shot. It'll be difficult as hell from up here, and suddenly I really wish that I had my rifle with me.

Jane puts her hand over my arm and shakes her head before I can do anything.

"Can't risk it from here," she tells me, and reluctantly I agree with her. Even if I manage to kill one of these punks, it'll just reveal our position. Then it'll just turn into one massive slaughter fest, all because of one stupid mistake.

Stupid mistakes cost lives – lives can't be replaced.

"Let's just wait it out for a bit," she suggests, trying to be as still as possible. "We'll see where it goes from there."

"If you say so," I grunt, watching the exchange with an itchy trigger finger. Just give me an opening, dickheads…

There's at least eight of them from what I can see, but there could be a few more covered by the treeline and out of my field of vision. They've got Tommy, Derek, Lorna, Bryce and the rest all with their hands in the air in surrender, although Lorna seems really pissed about the whole thing. In this instance, I can't really say that I blame her.

"Nothing has to go down," Derek calmly says, trying to diffuse the situation before it gets out of hand. "We don't want any trouble here."

"Well, you've got it anyways! Now don't make me repeat myself!" the man orders, pushing his pistol into Derek's chest threateningly.

It's never a good idea to play with fire, dude! Hasn't he learned that by now?

"…what if I made you an offer?"

"Derek, no," Lorna shakes her head, not liking the prospect of submitting to these goons. "Don't even think about it – not this time."

"This could be just the opportunity we need, Lor. For both parties, in fact."

Hmph, that's just a code word for "_we don't have any other choice"_. Of course, though, the bandit's… or hunter's, I suppose, interest is piqued as he tilts his head to the side. I guess that not everyone's unreasonable.

"What kind of offer?" he asks, not taking his gun off of its target as he says this.

"I thought you'd be interested," Derek smiles, not fazed by the fact that he could die at any given moment. "We're heading to a safe zone out in the city – the Houston Space Center. Ever heard of it?"

The hardy chuckles from the hunter group tells me that they definitely have. They probably think it's as unrealistic as we do.

"The place is cursed – nobody can get in there. Those that do never return," he elaborates, making it sound like some kind of horror flick that I used to watch as a kid. I used to love the thrill that they'd bring, especially late at night. "You'd be wasting your time, friend. The city's a mess and the people left there are fucked in the head."

"So… is he talking about himself right now?" I whisper, causing Jane to snicker quietly as Derek shrugs his shoulders.

"We've heard that before," Derek acknowledges, showing that he's more of a diplomat than he lets on. I'm still surprised he hasn't gotten shot for even trying. "But that was with, what, a handful of people at a time? If we had a large enough fighting force, then we'd have much more of a fighting chance. We're going to take that place over, mark my words. So… are you in?"

"I'll consider it if you sweeten that deal," the man comments, getting a bunch of protests from his buddies. "What?! Do you wanna keep living out in the shits for the rest of your lives?! No? Then quit your bitching!"

Turning back to Derek with an annoyed look, the hunter gestures to the trucks in a business-like manner.

"Half your supplies go to us," he orders, making my blood boil as he continues to demand more. "If and when we take this place, my boys and I get first dibs on living quarters and supplies. You break any of this, we put your whole group in the dirt. Got that? We're in control now, motherfuckers, so get that shit through your head!"

"Got it. Done," Derek nods, slowly standing up to shake his hand. The rest of the hunters aim at Derek in case he tries to shoot the guy, but the man's a survivalist – he knows when to shoot and when not to shoot.

Knowing him, I'm almost completely positive that Derek's still in control. He's been in power from the very beginning.

Slowly coming out of our hiding spot, we ignore the obnoxious looks from our new "friends" as Tommy and Bryce join us back in the car.

"_Drive nowhere but to Houston," _the radio calls out as Jane grips the steering wheel firmly in her hands. Derek's no longer on the other end of the line. _"We're watching you closely, Jane. Don't screw this up for the rest of your family."_

…

Without a doubt, this might be the sketchiest-looking city I've ever been in. I'm sure it was much nicer before all hell broke loose, but now… Jesus. I can't imagine anyone actually _choosing _to live here.

The sign at the front that was supposed to make us feel welcome to this city was spray painted over in red. Now it simply reads "GET THE FUCK OUTTA OUR TOWN!", and it doesn't help that there was a dead guy propped up right beside it.

There are walkers literally _everywhere. _Not since Atlanta have I seen it as bad as this, but even then it's not on the same level. If I recall correctly, Houston was one of the biggest cities in all of America, so that explains quite a bit.

It doesn't help that there are now four vehicles (one from the hunter group) trying to plow their way through a walker-infested zone.

"This is one time where a cow catcher would really be helpful," Jane remarks bitterly, failing to hide her nerves as she cautiously drives ahead. "Damn it, Bryce! Are you sure this is the right way? We're infested over here!"

"Should be," he simply replies, causing the both of us to groan as Tommy locks his door. Realizing that that's probably a good idea, the rest of us do the same as the rotting faces of men, women and children stare at us hungrily.

I won't lie to you – this is really freaking me out.

"_Don't panic – we'll be fine," _Derek's muffled voice rings in, having gotten the radio back just a little while ago after much convincing. _"Keep your wits about you, people. Jane, just keep pushing forward. The rest of you, don't fall behind."_

"Easier said than done," I mumble, having half a mind to roll down the window and shoot one of these guys. "There's gotta be thousands of them out here."

The sky is nearly pitch black with none of the street lights working, so the only light source that we have are the front headlights. If they go out, we're screwed and will have to hold on until morning; defeating the whole purpose of getting here at this time in the first place. The whole point was to break in under the cover of darkness, take over the place and then… I don't really know.

There have been some doubts in my mind as to what this is going to entail.

"Anyone else feel… kinda shitty about this?" I ask, hearing Bryce snort at the irony of it all. Yeah, that might make me sound like a hypocrite, but it doesn't change things here. "I mean, what are we gonna do? Break into someone's fort and kick them out?"

"I'm pretty sure Lorna's got darker motives than just that," Tommy chips in, causing me to look back at him in surprise. Jane's too focused on her driving to pay the conversation much mind, but even she can agree that this sounds pretty bad.

The more that I think about it though, the more I realize exactly how much this happens. The prison, Houston Hills, the camp in Dallas, Howe's… now the space center. People have to pack up and move within a moment's notice all the time. It almost reminds me of barbarians coming to sack a village and pilfer them for gold, jewels and all that other shit that you heard about in the history text books.

Does it make it right that we're doing it now though? I'm not so sure.

"Looks like it's starting to clear up," Jane acknowledges, giving me some temporary relief as she speeds on down the street.

"_Make a left up here," _the hunter leader tells us, so Jane obliges as we go down a narrow street. You couldn't even open the doors out here it's so tiny, and to make matters worse there's (what else?) some walkers coming towards us.

"Shit," Jane hisses, realizing that there's no other way to go now. The trucks are coming in behind us and the massive herd is still out in the street a little ways back. "Hold on, everybody. This might get a little messy. Lilly, pull your gun out."

Doing as instructed, I rest my arm on the dashboard as she starts to rev the engine. I know exactly what she has in mind as she speeds forward; not bothering to slow down as we get closer and closer to the walkers.

Shooting through the front windshield, it takes two bullets for the first one to go down, but Jane has already ran the second one over before I could get a shot off.

"_Wraaaaaggghhhh!" _the thing snarls as it gets caught on the hood, slowly sliding off as it fails to keep its balance. I bounce around in my seat as the walker falls underneath the wheels; making me squeamish as I hear the crunch of its skull underneath the rubber.

It doesn't help when the body is run over three more times afterwards.

"God…" I close my eyes tightly, trying to prevent myself from hurling all over the dashboard. You'd think that after all of this time I'd be okay with that kind of stuff, but occasionally it still gets to me. "Please tell me we're almost there…"

"It's hard to tell," Jane squints, pointing up to a pretty tall building in the distance. "There, that big building with the glass windows. Is that a winner?"

"Winner, winner, chicken dinner," Bryce replies dryly, no doubt just wanting to get out of here as soon as possible. Quite frankly, so do I. "There should be a way to get across this."

"Across what?" Tommy asks, causing Bryce to just point out the front road onto the street. "What? The road? I don't see any of them creepy-crawlies out there, boy."

"Put your high beams on," Bryce comments, sighing as he rubs his forehead tenderly. "See for yourself."

Flipping the switch, Jane, Tommy and I all carefully step outside with our guns out; making sure that we didn't miss a walker lurking around. When the coast is clear, we all step forward to where Bryce had pointed to.

"Holy fucking shit," I remark, tossing a stone down into the massive hole in the ground. I don't hear a _ting _for about four seconds, not really telling me how deep it is exactly but giving me a bit of a guess at least. This is one damn big hole. "What do you think happened over here?"

Taking a knee, Tommy peers into the gaping monstrosity as he whistles in astonishment. This couldn't have been from a walker, which only leaves…

"I'm guessing that it got set off on purpose," he tells us, making me remember how he used to work in construction. "Support beams are built to resist almost anythin', and can last a long time after we're gone."

"How long exactly?" Jane questions as I notice all the rubble, debris and ruined vehicles crowding down below. Dust flies from the wreckage as I – wait, is that a bus?! Good god, I hope nobody was down there…

Scratching his chin thoughtfully, Tommy begins explaining stuff to Jane as I turn around to find the rest of our group waiting impatiently behind us – probably all eager to get into some real shelter for a change.

"Well? What's the hold-up here?" the hunter leader asks, as I still don't know what his actual name is. Derek steps out with Lorna as the rest of the group comes to check out what we've discovered.

As soon as they see the hole, everyone starts to panic a little bit.

"What in the actual fuck?!"

"How the hell are we gonna get across?!"

"This is bullshit! We've come so close!"

"We should've stayed in Dallas!"

"Everyone calm down," Derek soothes, trying to nurse a growing headache as he tries to figure out what we're gonna do. I'll be extremely pissed off if _this _is what keeps us from reaching our destination. "We'll figure this out – we've been through worse shit before. Just have a look around and search for something we can use."

"I say we just make a pile o' hunters and step on their corpses to get across…" Lorna mumbles, thankfully quiet enough for only Jane and I to hear. Looking over towards me, she ushers Jane and I to follow her under the excuse of checking out another area. Once we're out of earshot, she whispers to us urgently. "I ain't lettin' these boys tell me what to do! No way, no how! I say we send them out first; let 'em act like bullet sponges for the rest of us to break inside."

"Christ, Lorna! They're people too, you know!" Jane protests, giving her a sharp glare as I try my best to ignore her. Arguing too much with Lorna isn't healthy. "Not everyone's a psychopath like you!"

Chuckling humourlessly, Lorna fixes her jacket before turning back towards Jane; giving me a sharp look as well beforehand.

"You're one to talk about killin', ain't ya? Slaughtering those prisoners and taking back that house!" Lorna chastises, causing Jane to furrow her brow. "Face it, Janey-Jane-Jane, us three gals are the same. We get shit done out 'ere; we don't take shit, but we deal it out to those who get in our way. So don't stand there berating me for trying to do the hard thing! I ain't takin' orders from anyone, you hear me?!"

"Loud and clear," I snap icily, pointing back towards the rest of the group. "Now go – we've got work to do over here. I know fully well what you plan to do."

Oh, I know fully well. And I'm practically convinced that whatever she's planning to do will happen soon. I'm not being paranoid, I'm being realistic. All of the threats, the dirty looks and manipulation… it's all lead up to tonight. If she doesn't act soon, then all of that will have been nothing more than a charade. What better time to strike than during a struggle like the one we're undoubtedly about to have?

Without another word, Lorna casually walks with her hands in her pocket; feigning innocence as she walks over by Derek – probably the one person out of any of us that needs to watch out.

For his sake at least, he'd better start questioning her motives quickly.

"Found somethin'!" Tommy calls out, causing everyone to look as he returns with a long wooden board. "She should hold if we go one at a time, but it's just a matter of where to put it."

"This'll work," Derek nods, patting Tommy on the shoulder as they carry the board over to a smaller gap to the other side. The board doesn't look sturdy at all, but one by one everybody starts climbing to the other side.

The hunters are practically fuming.

"You're just gonna leave the trucks here?!" their leader exclaims, irate as the rest of us nod. We've forced Bryce to cross with us until we can be absolutely certain that this is the right place, much to his disdain. "You promised us _half the supplies! _That includes the trucks, asshole! Now get back over here before we resort to drastic measures!"

"Take your pick, sir – space center, or trucks," Derek reasons, weighing both options with his hands for added effect. "If I was in your shoes, I'd pick a potential shelter over sleeping in the car any day of the week. What's it gonna be?"

Growling under his breath, the man decides to cross the board along with the rest of his group… unfortunately losing one of the men as the board cracks underneath him. Looks as though it had to support too much weight.

"ARRGGGGHHH! Oh god, boss… Help me! Please!" the guy begs; both of his legs broken as he lays in a heap on top of a pickup truck.

Shaking his head in disgust, the leader simply tells us all to keep moving forward as his crony screams for him to come back.

That just left a horrible taste in my mouth – nobody even bothered to put the guy out of his misery.

…

Turns out that the building wasn't quite as far away as I had thought, as we're practically across the street now from the place. So this is the Houston Space Center… Clementine would've loved something like this…

I only wish that she could be here with us right now. You better be doing alright, kiddo.

"Make sure you're not out in the open," Derek advises, squeezing Lorna's hand in comfort as everyone prepares their weapons. Various rifles, machine guns and pistols of all shapes and sizes are out here in droves as the hunters get themselves prepared as well. "Once we're inside, we'll need to split up into groups. We go in hard and hit 'em by surprise, got it? No shooting unless they fire first – we want to take this place in good condition."

Taking one look at Lorna, I grow an uneasy feeling in my stomach. She's smirking, but I have no idea why. Yes, she's gonna try something, but what? If she wants to be a leader so badly, then why would she try hitting anyone? It's obvious that people will know her true intentions… or at least, Jane and I will…

Fuck.

"What the hell are we waiting for?" one of the hunters ask, looking eager to shoot something even though Derek specifically said _not to. _"Let's get in there! I'm getting hungry!"

"Easy, easy… Something doesn't feel right here," Derek shakes his head, peering ahead to look at the building across the road. "If this place is so dangerous, then where the hell are the patrols? There should be a guard or something around, right? Bryce, what do you know about this shit? Bryce?!"

Probably figuring that we'd forget about letting him go, Bryce sprints away and doesn't look back; making as much noise as he can to alert people of our position.

"God damn it…" Derek hisses, clenching a fist as he readies his rifle to charge into the building stealthily.

Figuring that this could end really badly, I grin slightly when I feel Jane's nervous hand grasp my own. We're gonna stick together like glue once we're inside; keep each other safe.

We're in this together until the end.

_Meanwhile…_

"…see them?"

"…yeah, we've got a runner," Clementine nods, looking out the scope of her rifle as she scans the street. "Bo, there's a lot of them. Do you think they're all bandits?"

Squinting his eyes to see as he adjusts his scope a little bit, Bo hesitates for a moment before answering. There's no real way to be sure, and he doesn't want to scare the kid at all, but he's been pretty straight with her up until this point. No sense in taking a chance.

And with such a big group, they're bound to be more than a handful of trouble. These guys look as though they mean business.

"They've got guns – every one of 'em," Bo acknowledges, sighing as he nods his head. "They've got to be bandits, Clem. Are you gonna take the runner, or should I?"

"No," she shakes her head, closing one eye as she lines up the shot. "Anyone else comes forward, you've got them. But that one's mine…"

Taking a deep breath, Clementine steadies herself before squeezing the trigger and shooting the guy – dead.

That sets off a stampede unlike anything she's ever seen.


	23. Morality

_Hey y'all magnificent bastards! I'm gonna try this in third person as PetulantOctopus had suggested – there's just gonna be a lot going on at once so I don't want to confuse anyone. I think it turned out pretty well, so no worries on that front._

_Rebloxic: Yes, I am a very happy person indeed lol. I should've named this chapter "Unicorns and the Magical Fucking Rainbows" instead ;P I bet people would get a kick out of that aha. _

_Clemmyclue19: Things are about to get crazy, my friend! Thanks for sticking with this, I really appreciate it :) _

_Guest: Thank you! I've got some ideas in mind for a sequel, but we'll have to see where it goes lol. _

_PetulantOctopus: Your wish is my command :D _

…

"Fuck!" Bo swears as the whole group rushes across the street; guns blazing as they shoot at the roof in a predictable fashion. He manages to kill off one person before having to retreat back into hiding. Normally the groups aren't nearly the size as this one… and it's almost as if they were _expecting _an attack on them this time around. Usually the bandits scatter around like chickens with their heads cut off; completely confused and freaking out because they're so misdirected.

The possibility of a smarter, more coordinated fighting force sprinting towards them puts Bo more than a little on edge.

"We've gotta warn the others!" Clementine exclaims, knowing fully well how much danger the center could be in if they manage to bust through the front doors. She might not know the place as well as Bo does, but she's seen firsthand just how defenseless these people can be if unprepared. "Bo, come on! We need to get downstairs!"

"Alright, I'll punch in the alarm," he agrees, sprinting down the stairs two at a time while also screaming at the top of his lungs for good measure. You never know – they might already be inside the building. "UP AND AT 'EM! WAKE UP! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

By the time that Bo reaches the bottom, a handful of people have already heard the racket and are standing out in the hallway; fidgeting nervously at the prospect of getting raided by ruthless barbarians from the outside. He encourages them to stay calm, grab a weapon and come with him to get the advantage on these guys. That's the one thing that they have over these bandits – they live here, so Bo and the rest know every hiding spot and flanking position there could be.

As he opens the shutter on the alarm and sets it off, Clementine races up behind with a worried expression.

"Ellie and Riley – where are they?" she asks, expecting an honest answer even though Bo's trying to see things for the greater good of the majority.

"Clem, you can't think that way. We need to keep the whole group alive here! You can't pick and choose who you want to save!"

"Keeping the _group _alive means that we keep _everyone _alive!" Clem points out, getting a dark look about her that Bo hasn't seen before. It's pretty intimidating coming from a twelve year old girl. "Tell me right now! Where. Are. The kids?!"

Exchanging the girl's hunting rifle for two pistols instead, Bo sighs before massaging his temple; trying to avoid the inevitable headache that'll come from a night of settling everyone down. The kid's perceptive, he'll give her that, but he just hopes that her determination isn't the thing that brings her down in the end.

For all of this to work, they need her alive.

"Second floor by the elevators," he replies, watching as Clem sprints off towards the stairwell with haste. "Oh, and Clem? Try not to die out there, would you?"

If that was supposed to be a joke, the girl definitely doesn't find it funny as she simply ignores him and ventures downwards. Those two right now are her top priority.

…

"He didn't deserve that," Jane shakes her head as she glances back across the street; unable to see the body but knowing fully well that it's still there. Nobody turns into a walker that quickly, and from the looks of things Bryce was shot in the head. If they can shoot someone at that distance, then this might be a hell of a lot more difficult than they may have thought.

To think that all the guy wanted to do was go home and start over again…

As the hunter group try and break open the doors (ending up just shooting the steel-enforced locks as a means of breaking and entering), Derek looks out onto the concrete with sadness. One of our own is sprawled out with his blood leaking from a bullet wound in the neck.

"Joseph…" he whispers, clenching a fist as he softly bangs it against his leg. This is something he had hoped to avoid. "It wasn't supposed to be this way. He should be here right now at our side…"

"For every one person they kill," Lorna growls, her spirit unwavering as she gets a fiery look in her eyes, "we'll take down three of theirs. Count on it."

"Don't let that anger take over, Lor," Derek advises, shaking his head as he turns back to the situation at hand. "We can't let our emotions get in the way. Think about what you're doing and focus."

Glancing over at him for a second, Lorna huffs before shaking her head and readying her weapon. In her mind, people like Derek won't ever understand how the world _truly _works anymore. The days of peace and diplomacy are long behind her, and she doesn't need or want anyone like that to get in the way.

This venom on her face doesn't get unnoticed by Lilly, but she decides to keep her mouth shut on the matter for now. She's got more important things to worry about than Lorna's _feelings_.

_Although it would be nice to bring her down a notch or two, _Lilly thinks to herself; just wanting her to disappear for good out of her and Jane's lives. Is that too much to ask?

Apparently, yeah it is.

"Damn it! They've triggered the alarms," one of the hunters hiss, only making them work faster to get inside. "Double-time, people! We need to get in there before reinforcements arrive!"

"They could just be waiting for us on the other side of the door…" Lilly mumbles, holding her pistol out for protection. In these circumstances, a gun can be considered your very best friend.

Shimmying the door bars open a little bit until they hear a _click_, the hunters quickly burst inside as the Dallas group follows in behind. Jane closes the door behind them as the group arrives to find… nothing. The alarm's still blaring in their ear drums, but there are no guns being fired, no resistance and no light except for the very limited amount they're getting from moonlight reflections through the windows. Everybody's on edge waiting for someone to pop out and try to attack them.

Derek motions for everybody to break off into groups like he had suggested, so Lilly and Jane try to stick with him as the rest of the group scatters. There are only a handful of flashlights available, so they try to use them sparingly as they walk further inside; checking every corner to see if anyone's around.

That's when the alarm suddenly stops blaring.

Everyone freezes in place as if it's a children's game or something as they scan the room. You could practically hear a pin drop with how quiet it's become – the only sounds being a bit of shuffling from upstairs and everyone's heavy breathing.

"I don't like this," Derek whispers, hugging the wall as he slowly walks into some sort of kitchen area. There are pots and pans scattered about the counters with some hanging loosely above their heads, along with a few sinks, an oven and some cupboards. No people in sight, however. "Spread out and check everywhere on this floor. We'll work our way up after – "

"Shh…" Jane hushes him, putting a finger to her lip. The noises above their heads are getting slightly louder. "…hear that? I think they're upstairs…"

They hear something being rolled into place along with some muffled, hushed voices, but who knows what they could be doing up there?

"Keep as quiet as you can. This doesn't change anything," Derek cautions, opening up some of the cupboards to check for supplies. "The plan doesn't change – keep going."

"Like hell it doesn't! They're coming down to kill us!" the leader of the hunters blurts out quietly, motioning for his men to set up near the stairwell. Derek practically smacks his forehead before turning back to check the next room.

"Fine, go ahead and put yourselves in harm's way…" he mumbles sarcastically as Jane, Lilly, Lorna and Tommy all follow in behind. This looks to have been some kind of board room for meetings and such, if the circular table in the middle with all the overturned chairs and used coffee mugs didn't give it away already. "I've got to admit – I didn't see things going this way at the start."

"What were you expecting? Them to come at us guns blazing?" Lilly asks, glancing at a picture of the space center while Jane looks out the windows. This place must've been pretty fun to work at once upon a time.

Shrugging his shoulders, Derek inspects a busted water cooler before cocking his head to the side.

"I dunno," he admits, walking over to a little pile of boxes as he kicks one away with his foot. "I was expecting at least a _little _resistance inside, but I ain't one to complain."

Lorna's being unnaturally quiet, which only raises Lilly's suspicion as she watches her lean over the table in thought. Jane's trying to keep a lookout for any retaliation outside, but so far there's been none to be seen.

The crackle of gunfire roars down the hallway as the shrill screams of men and women follow closely behind, causing everyone in the room to widen their eyes and look over to where it's coming from. There's no way of knowing whose screams those were, so Lorna and Tommy rush out to investigate.

"_What the fuck is going on out here?!" _Lorna demands, causing Derek to cringe as he leans up against one of the cabinets.

"God damn it, Lor…" he whispers, glancing up to meet Lilly and Jane's dark glances. "What is it?"

Deciding that this is the best chance that they'll get to warn him, Jane sighs before deciding not to ignore the elephant in the room.

"Lorna's trouble… not _in _trouble, Derek. She _is _the trouble," she emphasizes, trying to make him see this for himself. "As long as she's near you, you're not safe. I know that you care about her and all… but she's after your spot. She practically told us herself."

"That's quite the claim," Derek responds, annoyance on his face as they accuse his girlfriend of being a traitor. "But unless you've got any proof, I'd suggest that you let me sort out my own problems. Don't you think we've got enough to worry about as it is?"

"Honestly," Lilly says, "she might be the biggest threat that you have to worry about here. You have to wake up and see that she's – "

_BAM! BAM!_

Derek's gun smokes as he stumbles backwards; seemingly realizing what it is that he's just done. A little boy and his mother… both with bullets in them. The boy died instantly with no pain whatsoever, but the mother is gasping for air and crying over the loss of her son.

"Y-you…" she points, her hand bloody as she cradles her dead son close to her chest. She doesn't seem to care how much it hurts in her chest – probably because her heart's just been ripped to shreds. "Oh my god… Cailan, sweetie? No… No, no, no, no, no, no…"

With widened and sorrowful eyes, Derek raises the gun again – the silent question hanging in the air as Jane and Lilly watch with mixed emotions. The kid and his mom were hiding behind the boxes, and in an act of panic Derek had shot the both of them thinking they were going to attack.

When the sobbing woman nods, Derek fires again with a heavy heart as she too collapses onto the ground. Nobody says anything as the three of them gather around the fallen mother and son; unable to do anything more for them except wonder how it could've come to this.

Derek, seemingly ashamed of what he's done, tries to say something to somehow make this better, but all he can come up with is a bunch of garbled nonsense. Giving up, he sighs sadly before shutting his eyes closed and leaving Jane and Lilly to themselves.

The one question on all three of their minds is this – why did they even decide to come here in the first place?

…..

_Gotta find them, gotta find them, _Clementine repeats in her head, her resolve only heightened when the bullets start flying on the floor below her. There's already a body count starting as she glances upon all of the dead faces of people she had trained just the other day. It almost feels as though she let these people down in some way, and that guilt eats away at her like the plague.

God, why does she have to feel so helpless in this situation? Hopefully some of these assholes died along with them…

Scrambling to open the door to their room, Clem breathes a sigh of relief as she sees Ellie and Riley huddled together on the bed – scared shitless as they desperately try to cover their ears and block out the screams.

"Oh thank god…" she breathes out in relief as she closes the door behind her and jogs over towards them. "Are you two alright? They didn't come in here, did they?"

"N-no…" Riley shakes her head, being the only one physically able to speak as Ellie shivers beside her. Attempting to comfort them, Clementine puts her hands on their shoulders and tries to force out a smile.

Unfortunately, it falters when the gunfire outside gets louder.

"Ok guys, I need you to hide somewhere, get it?" Clementine hurriedly whispers, grasping their hands as she forces them to step out of the bed. They're still in the pyjamas that they were given by Debbie earlier that day – not exactly the most protective clothing they could use. Suddenly getting an idea, Clementine snaps her fingers before practically dragging them out with her into the hallway.

"Where are we going?!" Ellie squeaks, finally finding her voice as Clem draws her gun.

"_You know where to go…" _Lee says in her head as the girl nods, which confuses the girls a little bit. _"Get them to safety, sweet pea. That's the most important thing."_

Shooting a bandit twice in the head before he can make his way towards them, Clementine sprints down the hallway away from the gunfire while trying to avoid as much of the heat as possible. Some of the raiders are calling out and pointing towards them as they run, but luckily the bullets simply whizz past them and hit the wall as they turn down the corner.

Running as fast as their tiny legs can carry them, the girls huff and puff as Clementine finally leads them to where she wanted. Punching in the code that Bo had told her previously, Clementine grows impatient as the suspense starts to kick in.

"Come on you stupid thing, work!" she orders, glancing back nervously every few seconds in case somebody comes to chase after them. When somebody actually does, Clem widens her eyes and ushers for Ellie and Riley to stay low. Maybe if they stay in the dark, then there won't be any problems.

_Ding!_

"Oh crap…" Clem mumbles, cursing her luck as the man hears the sound of the door opening. What perfect timing! Readying her gun, she waits until the guy creeps forward a little bit before shooting him twice in the neck.

The guy grasps fruitlessly at his bullet wounds as he gargles on his own blood, which gives the three of them the perfect chance to get inside the spaceship room. Clem wishes that Ellie and Riley didn't have to see that, but it was basically unavoidable in these circumstances.

"Over here," Clem whispers, putting her pistol back into her pocket as she struggles to open the door. "Help me with this, guys!"

As a team, the three of them grind their teeth together as they grasp the door handle of the spaceship. As cool as this thing is, right now none of them could really care less about that. All they want is for the fighting to stop, but by the looks of things it doesn't appear that that's gonna happen anytime soon.

With a screeching groan of thick metal and steel, the hatch opens as Ellie and Riley climb aboard. Expecting Clementine to come in with them, they bang on the window when the twelve year old shuts it behind them.

"Stay here and don't come out, no matter what you hear, okay?" she tells them, instantly getting a _no _in response. Seriously, these two are as stubborn as she is. "I don't want to hear it! Stay inside, keep quiet and keep yourselves safe! I'll be back as soon as I can!"

"You need to be safe, too!" Riley protests, getting a nod from Ellie as they try opening up the hatch again. Clementine blocks it with her foot.

"Come on – don't make me blast you off into space!" she jokes, trying to lighten the mood as she sadly smiles towards them. "Don't worry about me – I'll be fine. Just protect each other, alright? That's what's important now."

Seeing that her mind won't be swayed, Ellie and Riley reluctantly stop struggling as they start to worry even more. Despite only knowing her for a little while, Clementine's grown to be one of their closest and most trusted friends and guardians in a long time. If anything were to happen to her…

No.

She's strong, and if she says that she'll be alright, then she'll be fine. They choose to believe that she knows what she's doing, and for the most part it seems as though the girl's practically invincible.

Placing her hand on the window of the hatch, Riley and Ellie do the same as Clem nods one last time before disappearing from their sight completely.

It's too bad that Clem forgot just how mischievous Ellie and Riley can be…

…

"DON'T BREAK RANKS! KEEP PUSHING FORWARD!" Lorna roars, moving past the deceased body of the hunter leader as she takes command of the guy's remaining forces. It's an absolute slaughter fest in here, with bodies lying about haphazardly and blood painting the walls around them. There are definitely more people dead on the space center side, but Lilly and Jane's group hasn't gone without its own casualties. Tommy got shot in the shoulder by a scientist, but the guy clearly wasn't used to handling guns and was mauled down in an instant. That's the big difference here – clearly these people haven't become hardened as much as their own group had.

Derek's staying quiet for the most part, only ever talking when the situation requires him to. Jane and Lilly are trying their best just to not die in the bloodbath, while Lorna is trying to kill every enemy she comes across. They've broken through to the second level, and by the looks of things some of the hunters even managed to get to the end of the hallway – they were unsuccessful, but they're definitely in the heart of the building now.

"Over there!" Tommy calls out to Jane, still clutching his shoulder behind cover but calling out just in time. Lilly guns an older man down before he can shoot her girlfriend, and the two of them barge into the janitor's closet to avoid the gunfire from a couple of other people. The whole scene is incredibly chaotic, and it's actually ended up in people shooting some of their own group members by accident.

The last of the hunters go down fighting as the barrage of gunfire turns more into one-on-one, close-quarters fighting. The only people left now are Tommy, Lorna, Derek, Lilly and Jane – with a whole bunch of bullet-filled bodies decorating the floor. Thankfully, any that come back to life are instantly put down before they can cause any real harm.

"This was a mistake…" Derek criticizes, slamming his fist against a pillar as he reloads his weapon. Tommy gives Jane and Lilly the ok as they stealthily move into the next room. "So many dead… and for what? We're no closer to taking this place over than we were at the start!"

"What are you saying?" Lorna asks harshly, not liking the self-pitying mess that she thinks he's become. Really though, if anything he's being realistic. "What, should we throw in the fucking towel now, Derek?! That's not happening! We came all this way, and we're not turning back now!"

"If we stay here we'll _all die_, Lorna! Is that what you want?!" he barks, trying to make her see the situation as it really is. "Look around you, hon! We've lost too much already! We should just count our losses and get the fuck out of here! Nobody else needs to die today!"

"This is fucking pathetic…" Lorna spits as she grabs a beaker and smashes it over a guy's head. "We ain't leaving until they're all dead! Every last one! This place will be ours, damn it! Open your god damn eyes!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hallway, Lilly and Jane have entered what looks to be some kind of doctor's office. All the usual tools are here – doctor's bag, stethoscope, thermometer, the thing you use to test reflexes, plus a whole other whack of stuff that neither of them know the use of. It's all very scientific-looking, as Jane loots through the bag and widens her eyes in surprise.

"They've got enough here to look after this whole place," she comments, thinking darkly as she realizes that there won't be nearly as many patients as there were beforehand. Shaking it off, Jane closes the bag back up and sighs. She doesn't want to make the same mistake again. "Looks like it's clear on my end. How about you?"

"Clear," Lilly confirms, though keeping her weapon out just in case. "This place has everything – meds, electricity, protection… Why were people so afraid of coming here? I don't see anything wrong so far."

"Who knows? Maybe they were just being… shit."

"What? What is it?" Lilly whispers, crouching down at Jane's request. There's some muffled shouts and such going on, but it doesn't sound like there's a struggle of any kind. "Jane, what's up? I can't see anything!"

Glaring over the counter, Jane watches Derek hurrying down the hallway with Lorna calmly walking behind him – almost as if she's…

With one smirk over her shoulder, Jane knows what Lorna's about to do.

"Son of a bitch… She's gonna kill him!" Jane hisses, opening the door but huffing out in frustration as they turn down the corner. "Stay here and watch after Tommy, alright? I need to stop this shit."

"I'm coming with you – don't try and stop me."

"No!" Jane demands, placing one hand on her shoulder as she gives Lilly a pleading look. "Please, just… trust me on this, okay? I have to do this, and the longer I wait, the more likely that he's gonna die. You have to let me go, Lilly."

Biting her lip hard, Lilly tries her best to fight off the urge to go along with her greatest friend, partner and lover. Of course she trusts her – that much isn't being questioned – but having her run off into danger like this isn't something that she's openly willing to accept.

Still, with that determination in her eyes, Lilly basically has no choice but to concede. Jane's going to be just fine, she knows she'll be.

"You come back to me, you hear?" Lilly demands, getting a reassuring nod from Jane as she plants a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll scout around here… but be careful. I love you, Jane."

"I love you too," she smiles warmly; the words making Jane melt in happiness all over again. As much as she'd rather just run off with this hard-headed, bossy, loveable lady, however, she knows that lives are at stake here, and Lorna's not going to wait for approval in order to kill the guy and eliminate the threat.

But what could she possibly rule over _now_?

Watching as she sprints out the door and down the hallway, Lilly clenches a fist and just hopes that nothing worse will come of all this. There's a whole lot here that could potentially go wrong, but Jane's had pretty good luck in the past – hopefully that streak will hold true.

Absentmindedly, Lilly pulls her Dad's ring out from her pocket and twirls it around in her hands.

_When all this is over, _Lilly thinks to herself, _I'll do better by you, Jane. You've deserved way more than the shit hand you've been given, but I'll set things right. And maybe I'll work up the guts to ask you something along the way…_

Her thoughts are interrupted by a sharp, stabbing pain coming from her left shoulder, as she clutches at it to reveal some sort of needle – filled with a greyish liquid inside of it.

"Jesus… Christ…" she hisses out in pain, clenching her jaw as she's roughly shoved against the glass cabinets. Her face smashes through the glass as rows of medical bottles and syringes come tumbling down, and she can taste the blood as it rolls down her cheeks and enters her mouth.

Grasping at anything that could be used as a weapon against this mysterious attacker, Lilly internally grins as she clutches the thermometer that she saw earlier. Using her strength, she slightly overpowers the person as she shoves the back into the medical bench and tackles the assailant to the floor.

"Urghh… get… the hell… off of me!" the person (a woman, as Lilly has realized) grunts as Lilly bashes her face in left and right. The woman manages to knee Lilly in the stomach, which briefly incapacitates her and gives an opening for a counter attack.

"What the… fuck… did you put in me?!" Lilly snarls as she struggles for dominance, internally freaking out as she wonders what kind of shit is now flowing through her veins.

The tables turn as Lilly gets her head slammed against the doorway roughly, but thankfully the girl has been through far worse before. This woman's stronger than she looks, but by the fresh cuts on her arms and the swelling bruises forming on her face, it looks as though the fight's drawing to its conclusion.

Dodging a kick to the head, Lilly rolls over to her side before taking out her knees and twisting her ankle until it snaps. As the woman howls in agony, Lilly, fueled with rage, takes the thermometer and jabs the woman in the neck with it as she keels over in pain. The thermometer's an older model, so if the blood loss in her neck won't take her down, the mercury poisoning definitely will.

"Fucking hell…" Lilly gasps for air, standing up and supporting herself against the medical bench. The person literally came out of nowhere and assaulted the living shit out of her… but even Lilly herself sees that she probably took that way too far.

Despite being a heat of the moment type of thing, she feels guilty for the dying mess of a person that now lays beside her. Not wanting to see any more of this, Lilly turns around and starts to head through the door at a slower pace due to her wounds.

"DON'T MOVE!"

Completely freezing, for a moment Lilly thinks that someone's just playing a cruel, sick, twisted joke on her. That voice isn't real – there's no way they could be here! Her whole body starts to tremble as Lilly, with fear in her heart that she'll just be blasted away anyways, slowly turns around with blood staining her jacket.

Neither of them can move as they gaze up at each other; somehow horrified and amazed at the same time.

Clementine snuck in here hoping to fight off and kill whoever it was that Debbie was attacking… but she didn't realize who it was exactly that that person could be. Her mind has to be playing tricks on her, right?! There's no way that Lilly Caul is standing in front of her right now , having just murdered Debbie and trembling at the sight of her!

It must be those damn illusions again!

Raising her pistol up, Clementine prepares to fire and end this stupid mental image once and for all; not wanting to be tormented any further by the thought of her friends dying. Hasn't she already suffered enough?!

"_FUCKING SHIT! OPEN UP!" _

Looking behind her in fright, Lilly makes a split-second decision to run before Clementine has a chance to shoot her on the spot. Clem makes an attempt, but can't find the target as she narrowly misses hitting her head. Seemingly glued to the spot, Clementine bends down to look at Debbie – who's knocking on death's door as she draws her final breaths.

The light fades from her eyes as she glances towards Clementine one last time and nods – she's realized just how capable the twelve year old really was.

When the door opens again, Clementine is roughly shoved to the side as James cradles the woman he loved in his arms; sobbing while clutching Debbie close to his chest.

"Oh god… Debbie, sweetie? No… please don't… shit… fuck…" he mutters incoherently before giving a dark glare towards Clementine. "Who? Who was it?"

Shaking her head, the girl slowly backs up in fear of what the doctor might do. At this stage of grief, it'd be easy for him to go off at any moment, so Clementine puts a protective hand on her pistol just in case.

"I… I don't know," she half-lies, still unsure if that was just her mind screwing around with her or if that actually was Lilly standing there in the office. Either way, she's not going to admit to what she saw. "I just… found her like this, James. You've got to believe me…"

"DON'T YOU FUCKING LIE TO ME, CLEMENTINE!" he roars, an accusing finger jabbed in her direction as he continues to break down. "FUCK THAT! YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHO IT WAS, BUT YOU'RE JUST NOT TELLING ME! WHO THE FUCK WAS IT, HUH?! WHO?! WHO THE FUCK KILLED MY GIRLFRIEND?! WHO FUCKING KILLED DEBBIE?!"

"I… I don't…" she stammers, for once truly afraid of this man as she stands up in fear. When James doesn't move and continues to cradle his dead girlfriend, Clementine takes out the other pistol and carefully slides it across the floor at James' feet. At this, the man just sobs harder as he realizes what he needs to do next.

Without another word, Clementine exits the office and rushes down towards the spaceship area. Her bridges may be burned around here, but there are still two little kids that she's got an obligation to protect.

_Lee would do the same for me, _she thinks to herself, glancing at Bo once as he appears from the stairwell before opening the door.


	24. Bittersweet

_Guest: She almost did hit Lilly there :/ Things aren't going very well right now lol. And just for the last two chapters here, I think I'm gonna keep it on third person – there's a whole lot that I want to explore from the characters, so I don't think in this instance first person would be able to cover everything. If and when I do a sequel, though, it's back to first person as usual :D _

_ClemmyClue19: I can't tell you how much I enjoyed that dialogue option in the game lol. Yep, things are coming to a head here – Lilly killed Debbie, James doesn't know, Clementine isn't sure what she saw, etc. Thanks for reviewing!_

_VictoriaSW: We'll have to see about James, unfortunately :( And yeah, I didn't want the whole Lilly-Clem thing to be completely sunshine and rainbows at the start at least, you know? _

_Rebloxic: Oh you have no idea lol :D _

_Galen: Thanks bro! I'll keep that stuff in mind for this chapter!_

_Ashes2Ashes: Thank you so much :D And good, I'm glad you got a chance to play it! The Last of Us is a really awesome game – I kind of just wish it could've been longer lol. _

_Okay, that's everyone I think. Unfortunately I think this is going to be the second or third-last chapter for this story, unless I can think of something else to add on to it, but most likely there's only gonna be a couple more chapter after this. It's been awesome writing this thing, guys, you have no idea. This series has turned out to be my favourite by far, and I know that I've asked before, but would you guys be interested in seeing a third addition? Orrrrr should I just add another story onto this one? That way people don't have to keep switching back and forth like they had to before. Anyways, just an idea._

…

The human body is made up of millions – if not billions – of tiny, microscopic cells all working together to achieve a common goal: life. There are cells for your brain, for your heart, your lungs, everything. All circulating around every second so that you don't collapse and stop functioning altogether. There are red blood cells for transferring oxygen through the blood stream to the rest of your body, white blood cells used to fight off _normal _infection, palates… hell, there are even cells that work for your nervous system; sending signals to your brain to let you know when you're comfortable, sad, under duress or even intense pain.

James wonders just how well Debbie's nervous system was working when she was murdered by whatever animal did this to her.

He knows Clementine was lying… most likely either trying to cover for someone or to try and _spare his feelings_; as if that would actually help somehow. There was no doubt about it – you could see the shock and hesitation in her eyes.

_I don't know, James! I swear, she was like this when I found her! You have to believe me!_

What a load of bullshit.

The tear-filled sobs escaping his esophagus have made his throat incredibly hoarse and dry, but they have stopped completely now. He's now devoid of any emotion except possibly confusion, but he isn't entirely sure. James can't understand why this had to happen. God damn it, if she had waited for just five minutes for him to follow her inside then… but it doesn't exactly matter now, does it? Debbie's gone from his life, just as everyone else had left him – far too soon.

This shouldn't have been her time. It should've been his… He'd done so much wrong in the past couple of years that James should've been put down again and again – once for every life he'd destroyed. Debbie wasn't on board with the project straight away; nobody was at first, really. James, like all the others, had to convince her. He had to prove that this was the only option for saving what was left of humanity, and that no good could come around sitting on their asses and waiting for a cure to fly in that wasn't being created. People hadn't changed out there – just like before the dead rose, all they ever cared about were themselves. If people truly cared about what happened to each other, then diseases would be far less prevalent, and maybe this whole mess would've been sorted out before it even began.

But no – just like in history, they need to look out for number one.

Maybe James should just cave in and do the same.

He doesn't tear his gaze away from his dead girlfriend when he hears Bo enter the room; quietly shuffling inside as he shuts the door behind him. As far as James is concerned, it's just him and Debbie who are still here – Bo doesn't even begin to exist in his world. He doesn't register the guy as any more than a distraction meant to tear him away from his loved ones.

Still though, he persists.

"James…" he says quietly, tapping the doctor on the shoulder lightly a couple of times. When he doesn't immediately respond, the watchman grows slightly worried. Usually this kind of behaviour isn't reserved for him – James doesn't break that easily. "James, we've gotta go. They're inside the launch pad, and if they manage to get in deeper…"

"Let them do what they want."

Flabbergasted, Bo walks around the hate-filled doctor until he's bent down right in front of the guy on one knee. This isn't the same man that he met over a year ago. That one's gone, replaced by this stranger that he's never met before.

"You don't mean that," Bo refuses firmly, unable to accept that he'd give up so easily. "That's your work in there – the stuff that's gonna save lives someday! You can't just give it up because of this! Think about everyone that you'll – "

_BAM!_

Bo's words fall on deaf ears as James puts the pistol calmly back onto the floor; staring at Debbie with a fresh bullet hole oozing out blood onto her face. The eerie stillness of her body sends shivers down Bo's spine as he loses his balance and sits down on the floor.

"People haven't changed a bit," James sighs venomously, gently setting his girlfriend onto the floor as he crosses his legs. There's a whole mess of blood staining his old, white lab coat; making him seem more like a mad doctor than the man he truly is. "Out there, it's every man, woman and child for themselves. They're like a pack of wild dogs, Bo – they'll fight each other to the tooth and nail to get and take what they want. Why should we bother trying to save people?"

"Because they would do the same for you, if they were in your shoes."

"Ha! Lies! You're just like them, Bo!" the doctor laughs mirthlessly, stretching his head back to the ceiling as he shakes his head.

Frowning deeply, Bo picks the pistol up off the floor; wondering just where he got this from but not really paying it much mind. Clearly there are more important things to worry about right now, such as his friend's sanity after this traumatic event.

If nothing else good can come of this, saving James from himself might be the best that Bo can do.

"You don't have to go through it alone," he tries to reassure, trying to hold back his pensiveness as James shoots him a dark glare. "Look, there are people in there that are gonna destroy everything we've – _you_ have – worked so hard for. Sitting in here isn't gonna change any of that! You have to believe me!"

"Look at her."

"James, this isn't…"

"FUCKING LOOK AT DEBBIE, BO!" James roars, his eyes bloodshot behind his pair of glasses as he slams his fist and dangerously points to the corpse on the floor. "Now tell me, _friend_ – what do you see there? Go ahead, be honest with me, Bo. I can handle it."

Feeling that he should probably go ahead in case James decides to get violent, Bo regrettably glances over at the body; trying to hold himself together as he looks at the damage. This is a gruesome scene, indeed, and Bo finds himself not wanting to look at her for more than a few seconds without letting a shaky sigh erupt within his chest.

Turning back towards the broken shell of a man, Bo shrugs his shoulders. "What the hell do you want me to say? I know you two were close, James, but she was my friend too!"

"My Debbie was butchered like an animal for slaughter," he snarls, not registering Bo's words as he spits fire from his tongue. "People have been doing this for centuries, regardless of the circumstances. _People_, Bo – as in the ones that we've been trying so hard to save! If they can do _this _to each other, then what the hell is the purpose? No cure would be able to save her from being brutally murdered… No, if people aren't changing, then… maybe our species was meant to die off like this. Maybe this is nature's way of bringing balance to this world."

Bo is about to come back with a reply, but the sound of someone groaning in pain can be heard from out in the hallway; causing both of their heads to swing in that direction.

"Go… just… go check it out…" James tells him pitifully, staring at the tiled floor as he wallows in his misery. "I… I need to say goodbye anyhow…"

Quickly getting up and exiting the room, Bo shuts the door behind him as James continues to sit there; unmoving and uncaring if the whole building collapsed on top of them at any given moment. It'd crush them, obviously, but at least it would alleviate the pain that he feels in his soul. This burning, aching gap has been re-opened once again… not having done so since Heather died so long ago.

As he clutches Debbie's cold hand one last time, James tilts his head to the side in curiosity. On the floor a few feet away from him is a syringe; mostly empty save for a few droplets that have spilled onto the floor beside it.

…

_Huff… puff… _

With each step she takes forward, Lilly finds it increasingly difficult to stay focused and stand upright. Could it be the fact that Jane's hiding behind one of the worktables; desperately trying to avoid the gunfire coming towards her? Is it that Derek's on the floor in the other room, making a valiant (but ultimately fruitless) attempt to crawl away after getting shot in the stomach multiple times? Or is it maybe because Clementine, coming completely out of nowhere, tried to kill her after all the shit that she and Jane had put her through?

No – while those things are wracking her brain harder than you'd ever believe, it's not actually that stuff that's taking its toll on her mind.

_Fucking morphine, _Lilly thinks to herself with a grimace, holding herself along the wall as she enters the room with nobody else noticing yet. _That fucker drugged me!_

With her face and arms still bleeding from the encounter beforehand, and everything starting to feel all numb and disoriented, Lilly coughs before making her way further inside. There's a damn rocket ship in here, which she definitely didn't expect to find, but what _really _startles her is the fact that there are two little girls hiding behind a pile of broken electronic equipment; trying to look threatening to her but failing to do so.

Her head's getting increasingly fuzzy, but she can at least tell that one's got red hair and the other's got black hair. The faces are pretty distorted though.

She really wants to say something, but it's almost as if her voice has suddenly vanished somewhere. Lilly can't talk at all, perhaps as a side effect of the drug, but she pays it no mind as she turns her attention back towards the fighting. Jane's had to duck on numerous occasions to stop from getting hit in the skull, but Lorna's so distracted that she doesn't even notice Lilly coming up on the side.

Being in no condition to shoot a gun or inflict (or receive) any damage, Lilly decides that her best course of action would be to get to Derek. If there's a chance that he can be saved, then she's at least willing to make an attempt.

Even though he's still an asshole in her books.

Brushing past the two kids, Lilly struggles to make her way towards the doorway where Derek is; glancing at Lorna as she tries to reload behind a control panel for the rocket. She seems to realize what a disadvantage this is gonna put her in, so she too races to the back room using an alternate entry point.

"You know how to put up a fight, I'll give you that much!" Lorna shouts to Jane, catching her breath as she tries to ignore the pain of a bullet scraping by her arm. "It don't have to go down like this, Jane! We can just drop our guns and go our separate ways!"

Whatever snarky reply Jane probably came up with, Lilly doesn't hear it as she stumbles next to Derek; sprawled out on the floor like a starfish as he grunts in agony.

"Get… out of here…" he groans, shooing Lilly away in the hopes that she won't succumb to the same fate as him. "You have… to hide…"

Rolling over onto his back, Derek gasps as the bullet wounds stretch outwards painfully. Lilly can tell that he's under enormous stress, but he still manages to pull off a small smirk as Lilly reluctantly does as he says. She's getting woozier with each passing second, but she manages to catch one last glimpse of the guy before her eyes start to close. She's out of Lorna's view, thankfully, but Derek's definitely not.

Pulling off one last smile in the hopes that things might end up better down here, Derek lets out a content sigh before Lorna puts a cartridge into his brain.

Lilly, unable to hold on any longer, passes out onto the floor with her legs sticking out into view.

….

With that last blast from the other room, Jane knows that the guy's dead. She wasn't fast enough, and now he's gone… She let him down, and she damn well knows it. If she had just shot Lorna when she had the chance so many times beforehand, then Derek would still be alive and they could've escaped – all three of them, together.

Instead, there's yet another body painted in red at this place. Another death, and another statistic.

How did it come to this?

Her breathing has become agitated and difficult as the shakes start to come. Her fingers are trembling as she holds the pistol in her hands; pulling the slot back to make sure that she's got enough bullets. Three left… all it takes is one to the head for Lorna to go down, but Jane's still not liking her chances this time around.

Suddenly, something dashes by as she sticks her head up. It was almost a blur with how quickly it was trying to get to the two kids over near the wall, and once the person slows down Jane can hardly believe her eyes. Two pigtails tied back, that same poncho she's been wearing for months, that blue and white baseball cap…

"Clem?!" she gasps, causing the girl to turn her head almost robotically. Something's wrong in her eyes… very, very wrong. There's no longer that warm, pleasant glow that she had gotten used to back when they were safe at Houston Hills. The smile she'd occasionally have is gone and replaced by a look of mistrust, confusion and danger. "Wh-what the hell are you doing here?!"

Clementine, seemingly just realizing that someone's called out to her, spreads her arms out against the two kids and pins them behind her against the wall; seemingly trying to protect them. But… protect them from _her?! _Why?! Why would she have to do something like that? Doesn't she know that all Jane wants to do is help?!

"Get out…" Clementine snarls lowly, pulling out a pistol and sending a round to whiz right into Jane's arm. She topples over and falls to the floor in excruciating pain. "You… you're not real! Neither of you! GO AWAY! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! I WON'T LET YOU WIN! YOU'RE ALL DEAD! NOW GET OUT AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Oh my… god…" Jane hisses as she clutches at her left arm tightly; trying to put some pressure on the wound as she looks up at Clem from the floor. What the hell happened to her? They were on the same side – they still are supposed to be! Why would she possibly be acting this way?!

None of this makes sense, but Jane's face contorts into a scowl when she sees Lorna approach the trio dangerously.

"Thanks for helping out, I suppose," she shrugs, also trying to wave off the pain as her arm hangs loosely at her side. "It was supposed to be me though, darling, but I'll let it slide. Sounded like you two had quite the history together, didn't y'all?"

Silently crawling forward, Jane's blood drips onto the floor and is smeared underneath her as she tries to make her way over to Clementine. This can't be what it's come to – she won't believe it for a second. Something's wrong with the young girl, and it's probably something that happened after they left her at Houston Hills. Honestly, at one point Jane thought the girl was a goner.

Yet here she is, standing tall and trying to face up to Lorna in the middle of all this. Jane was right… that kid's gonna outlast them all.

"Still fightin', eh?" Lorna mocks, chuckling bitterly as she looks upon Jane with disdain. "That's a pity, lassie. You know, out of everyone at that camp, you and your partner were the only ones who I _knew _could make it. Like I told y'all before – we're survivors. We did what was necessary."

Clementine tries multiple times to shoot Lorna right in the face and get this over with, but her gun chamber's empty and all that can be heard are the clicking sounds. Seeing this, Lorna takes her pistol and smacks her hard with it right across the forehead; sending a deep gash onto her as the kids gasp and Jane's eyes widen with rage.

"That's for steppin' out of line, missy! Don't let me catch you like that again!" the cruel woman snaps, kicking Clementine roughly in the stomach as she helplessly tries to fight back. The only thing Clem can do, however, is weakly put her tiny hand on top of Lorna's boot.

Flicking the kid's fingers off of her, Lorna smirks and looks back and forth between the two.

"Now I see the resemblance," she remarks, the connection clicking as she nods her head. "Y'all were together at one point, weren't ya? Makes sense – the lot of ya fight with your last breath to the very end. Even Lilly did, at least until she caved in too."

Suddenly, everything goes black as Jane hears those words. Lilly _what?! _She… she couldn't be…

"_Where?!" _Jane demands, her voice full of malice as she speaks in a tone that she's never felt before.

Chuckling, Lorna steps to the side as she finally sees – Lilly, eyes closed and lying dormant in the corner. At this angle, it almost certainly seems like she's…

"…no…" Jane mutters, angry tears pricking at her senses as the pain in her arm seems less intense than it was before. There's so much raw emotion prickling inside of her very being that everything else is starting to feel obsolete. Clementine's going to die, those kids are going to die, and the love of her short life is dead.

Balling her hands into fists, Jane growls uncharacteristically as she tries to stand.

"Having another go, are we?" Lorna taunts, readying her weapon as she aims it shakily towards Jane. This could very well be it. "I'm sorry it had to come to this, pup, I really am. But you know the score – the strongest survive, while the weak have to be killed off. Such a shame that this time it's you."

"I'll fucking…" Jane snaps, unable to even comprehend her own words right now. She's so incredibly distraught that everything else has become a blur. Her target _tsks _before shaking her head and aiming the gun at Jane's head.

"You'll thank me for putting you out of your misery," she states, calmly squeezing her finger as the bullet zooms through the air.

…unfortunately for her, it misses the target completely, as she grunts from the little switchblade being put into her hip.

The little redhead just saved Jane's life.

Wasting no time, Jane charges forward and slams herself into Lorna; physically lifting her up and crashing with her through a glass window into the room where Derek and Lilly lay motionless. Lorna manages to kick Jane in the side of the head, but the feisty woman immediately shakes it off and lands a punch right in her bad arm.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Jane screeches as she knees Lorna in the gut, pulling out her knife but unfortunately tripping over Derek in the process. The blade falls a little bit out of reach and gives Lorna enough time to shove Jane roughly into the wall; hitting some big screen in the meeting room and cracking it in various places.

"JUST… DIE!" Lorna bites back, trying to choke the woman to death as she grips her throat violently. At this point, both women have completely lost their minds trying to kill each other – the hatred for one another has never been as fueled as it is at this very moment. With a swift kick to Lorna's injured leg, Jane manages to break free and scramble towards her knife.

Just barely avoiding the last of Lorna's rounds, Jane dives over to her hunting knife and hides it at her side; hoping that by all accounts the crazed woman won't have noticed it.

Thankfully, Lorna, in a last ditch attempt to end this once and for all, rushes forward and punches Jane right in the nose.

Why is this good, you ask?

It's good because that's given Jane just the opening she needs.

"_WRAAAAGGGGHHHH!" _Jane bellows, driving her knife right into Lorna's chest cavity; causing her to violently cough and sink to her knees as blood starts spraying onto the floor. Not satisfied, Jane stabs her again, and again, and again, and again… ten times in the chest until she lays there in a pile of her own blood.

The girl's not finished yet, though.

Yanking the knife out of her chest, Jane drives it right into her forehead multiple times; each one more venomously than the last. Her hands are completely drenched in blood at this point, and she's so furious that she doesn't even feel her fingers dislocate after attacking her for so long.

"_FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!" _Jane belts out, only stopping when the once purple pants-wearing, Boston accented, vengeful, power-hungry Lorna is nothing more than a bloody, gory, disgusting mess that's practically been implanted into the floor. She reminds Jane so much of Carver that it disgusts her.

Tossing the blade aside, Jane lies on her back and sobs. Loudly. She's distraught over the fact that her whole life is in tatters, that everything the three of them have worked so hard for is now gone in an instant, and that she doesn't know if she has the willpower to go on after this. Coming here was a complete and utter mistake, and it's cost them everything.

That's not what scares her the most, however.

No, the thing that terrifies Jane – shakes her to the core, holds on for dear life and never lets go…

…is the fact that right here in this room, she's become the one thing that she wanted to avoid at all costs.

She's become like Kenny and Carver.


	25. Not all doom and gloom

_Bubbles2K100: Aha yep! You can feel however you want about this, I ain't gonna police you folks XD And thanks! Hopefully it'll be somewhat satisfying next chapter!_

_VictoriaSW: No worries, this chapter's gonna be toned down considerably from the last one – no more Rambo stints or whatever the hell that was from Jane… hopefully lol. _

_Rebloxic: Yep, the camps were pretty much wiped clean except for a handful of survivors. Thank you so much for letting me use Lorna, btw. Your OC was a game-changer!_

_Clemmyclue19: We'll see ;) All I can say is that unfortunately the chapter after this will probably be the last. Thanks so much for sticking with it for the long haul :D _

_EmilyRose727: _(In Nicholas Cage voice): _NO, NOT THE FEELS! THE FEELS! THEY STING! AGGGHHHHH! AGHHHHH! _

_Ahem, anywho… onto the next chapter, yes? Oh, and I know that I said it wouldn't happen, but this chapter's gonna be in first person POV (OMG Leafs, you're such a big, fat liar!). Turns out I can do it a hell of a lot better than third person lol – maybe I just need practice, but for now I'm just gonna leave it at that._

_**Lilly's POV**_

The house is pretty damn quiet as I walk down the halls; the only sounds being the creaking of floorboards underneath me along with the sweet-sounding, harmonious tune being played on some sort of old radio or cassette player. It's soft enough for me to enjoy it, but loud enough so that it's not just completely on mute. It's a good mix between the two extremes.

I'm glad that she finally managed to get the damn thing working, but obviously I'll never tell her that. We've just barely made it to _friend _qualifications, and I sure as hell am not gonna give her the satisfaction of something as trivial as this.

Can't let the pride go to Jane's head, you know?

"Back from the dead, are we?" she jokes light-heartedly, but for some reason this tears at my mind. Why do I feel like there's more meaning behind those words than she actually realized? When I stare at the ugly wallpaper along the back wall, Jane tilts her head in slight concern. "You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

Quickly breaking myself out of this stupor, I nod and ensure her that I'm perfectly fine. Everything's cool, and nothing's out of place here. I mean, really, how could things be anything less than okay around here? We haven't heard or seen from any walkers or hooligans out around these parts in weeks, the food situation isn't _too _severe right now, and we've collected enough rainwater to fill up a few buckets at least – odd considering that we're practically out in the desert.

Nothing's certainly perfect, but Houston Hills is probably the best place we're ever gonna get.

"Lilly, you're kinda freaking me out here," Jane comments, having been watching me the whole time that I was staring into space.

"Where's…?" I ask, the question hanging out there like a fishing line as Jane turns her gaze to the back window; a small smirk on her lips as she looks at whatever's out there.

Following her line of sight, I head to the back door cautiously as I lean my face up against the glass. There's a kid out there – I can't really tell exactly how old she is from back here – but she seems content; swinging on the wooden swing set out by an old tree. Obviously she can't get very high on it, but the girl seems happy just being able to do something like this for a small moment.

"…Clem?" I call out, frowning slightly when she doesn't move an inch. It's almost as if she didn't even hear me at all, and that I don't even really exist in her world.

Jane pays no mind to this, however.

"I never told anyone this," Jane comments, popping out of nowhere beside me as she too watches with curiosity, "but I was starting to get worried about that kid. Having to go through all of that bullshit at her age… she's gotta have nerves of steel at this point. I honestly don't know how she manages to keep it all together."

"…yeah," I comment simply, tracing my fingers along the glass as I smudge the door with my warm breath.

Turning around, I notice that Jane's now over by the counter with her arms supporting her as she looms over it; seemingly lost and confused.

"I've been thinking a lot lately… about Clem… about the two of us," she states, shaking her head as she grimaces at the counter. "I've come to realize something, too – there's only so much that one person can take before they finally break."

"Why are you telling this to me?"

"I...I don't really know. But I feel like I _should _know, you know?" she tries to explain, her words going in circles as she chuckles at how stupid that sounds. "Look, I know it might sound crazy… but I feel like I should be… upset or some shit, like something's gone horribly wrong. It's stupid though, right? I mean, I don't even know _why _I feel this way…"

There's something about this that just compels me to help her; to sit down, hash it out and find out exactly what it is that's going on in that thick skull of hers. Not only do I just not want her to constantly bug me about this for however much longer she's going to, but also because I sort of feel the same way – like there's a gaping wound that's been left open and can't heal properly on its own. Someone has to coach it and let the feelings out… _*shiver*. _Feelings have never been my strong suit.

"Although come to think of it, you should know all about this, Lilly," Jane suddenly tells me, glaring fiercely as she slams a knife into the counter with anger. "After all, you're the one who left me anyways!"

"No…" I whisper out hoarsely, suddenly remembering bits and pieces of what happened. It's like a jigsaw puzzle – little tidbits of info are starting to piece itself back together. Jane and I were fighting something, we were together at one point, and then…

Blank. I don't remember anything after that.

"IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED, LILLY?! HUH?! IF YOU WANTED TO LEAVE SO BADLY, THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST TELL ME?!" Jane screeches as she leaps over the counter; knife in hand as she tackles me and my head smacks against the wooden floor.

…opening my eyes again, I'm no longer at Houston Hills. Instead, I'm back at the one place that I never thought I'd have to revisit in a billion years.

"The motor-inn…" I breathe out, taking in the view as I glance around. Carley's up top on the RV on lookout duty, Kenny and Katjaa are having a chat over by the couches, Lee's over by the truck checking out weapons, and Mark's backing up trying to lift his end of the couch out of one of the motel rooms.

Wait… then that means…

"Oh my god…" I whisper, covering my mouth as tears spring to my eyes. There's Dad, as loud-mouthed and tough as ever, yelling at Mark as he holds his end of the couch with little to no difficulty. I want to rush over and hug him without ever letting go; to tell him about everything that's happened since I saw him last. But for some reason, my body refuses to move.

"Umm… are you okay?"

"Huh?" I ask dumbly, glancing down and hardly believing my eyes. Clementine's here again; in the flesh, but she seems… younger. This must be her at eight years old, but why the hell am I seeing her like this? Why am I here at all? Deciding that I should just play along, I pull off an embarrassed smirk before bending down on the sidewalk to talk to her. "Uh… yeah, I'm fine. Just great, Clem, don't worry about it. What's that you're doing over here anyways?"

Smiling shyly, the kid shuffles over a bit to reveal her newest masterpiece. I actually remember this now – this is when she started drawing the whole crew at the motor-inn. Chuckling as I see her _smiling _depiction of my Dad, I nod in approval as I tell her what a good job she's doing with this. Somehow I feel that I _need _to praise her, even if it's as small as something like this.

And yet… there's something else that's bugging the hell out of me.

As I watch her continue to draw while making sure that Duck doesn't rush over and ruin the work, something's at the back of my mind; nagging at me. Something's telling me that Clementine – one of the few people that I truly care deeply for – is out for blood… _my _blood. Something tells me that this kid could potentially be the most dangerous, deadly and unstoppable force that I've ever encountered, and she could be the one and only thing that would pose a serious threat to me.

As she offers a piece of chalk to me, and I accept it unquestioningly, I honestly can't believe that I'd even think such things. This is fucking Clementine, not some monster out for vengeance! She's possibly the sweetest and kindest child (person, even) that I've ever come across.

What harm could an eight year old girl do to me?

"Alright, I think… I think I'm finished for one day," I tell her, setting the chalk piece back beside her as I stand up. I want to head back over to my Dad before something else comes and snatches him away from me. "I'm gonna go head back on over and – "

"Howdy, folks."

Turning my head in horror, I'm suddenly knocked backwards by a shotgun blast as Andy St. John's weapon smokes out. He proceeds to go on a rampage throughout the camp; killing everything and everyone on sight as I slip back into unconsciousness.

….

…..

…..

….

…ugh… where….

Slowly opening the slits in my eyes, I glance about as I try to get my bearings. Where am I? I don't remember this room, with the ceiling fan spinning above my head, the ugly green wallpaper surrounding me, as well as the two large bookcases filled with a whole bunch on surgery and other medical terms that I'll probably never understand. This place reeks of death; that rancid smell in the air flaring my nostrils as I scrunch up my nostrils in disgust.

What I can't for the life of me figure out, however, is why I'm strapped down to a chair and can't move at all despite not being physically restrained.

"I hope you're comfortable," a new voice appears, causing me to look left and right to try and find the source.

"Who the fuck are you?! Show yourself, damn it!" I demand, totally confused as to what's going on. When I move my head around too much, I cry out as a shrill pain overwhelms my senses and I'm forced to look down at the floor.

Blood slowly drips onto the hardwood as I shudder. A shadow appears before me; standing upright as my eyes lazily glance upwards.

Sandro.

"You motherfucker…" I snarl, not having the energy to try and fight him off. "You're supposed to be dead! How can… how can you…?!"

"Circumstances can change in the weirdest of circumstances, Lillian. You must know this, yes?" he acknowledges; his Mexican accent adding a twinge of mystery to him.

Stepping into the room next are a bunch of people that I never wanted to see ever again – Carley, Bonnie, Mike, Arvo, Papa John, Corvo, Henry, Derek… all people whom have either wronged me or have _been wronged _by me in some way, shape or form. All at once they begin taunting me; berating me about all of the shit that I've pulled over the last few years or so. Carley's accusations rattle me the most, but I won't give in! I can't, otherwise they'll win over me and get even deeper into my head!

"Speaking of your head," Sandro remarks; his voice standing out among the rest as he literally reads my mind, "we've had to make some… adjustments, I'll say."

Frowning in confusion, my hand slowly travels up to the side of my head… only to gasp in complete horror to find that a huge piece of it is no longer there. Sandro puts a mirror in front to let me see for myself the horror that's been done. My skull has been ripped open on the side, leaving nothing but puss, blood and grey brain matter showing as I cry out in pain upon touching it.

"Oh my god…" I wail, feeling completely terrified as the group closes in on me. Struggling and batting my arms against them in a vain attempt to break free, I begin to panic as they tilt the chair and force me on my back to the floor. "NO! STOP THIS, PLEASE! I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, JUST STOP! NO! PLEASE! NOOooOOOOooooOOO!"

"Should've figured that out sooner," I hear Kenny spit, suddenly appearing within their little group with a salt lick in both of his hands. "This is what I should've done along with Larry, you worthless piece of shit."

I scream in pure terror and fright as I'm held down roughly, and Kenny slams the salt lick straight onto my head.

"AHHHHH!" I scream again, sweat beading down my forehead as I lift my head up. Breathing heavily, I close my eyes and sigh before lying back down on… whatever it is I'm sitting in right now. A bed, most likely.

Hoping that this isn't just another weird, messed-up nightmare, I go to smack myself in the face… but I can't manage to do even that.

Why the fuck am I handcuffed to a hospital bed?!

Struggling against it a few more times, I let out a groan of frustration as I try looking for something to pry my way out of this jam. Luckily there's a little side desk nearby, so I frantically reach over to try and grasp at a pair of scissors. It might not be ideal, but it's probably better than nothing.

"Not happening."

Cautiously turning my head, I see an older fella in the room with me holding a large hunting rifle; cracks in the surface revealing that the guy's probably been through a lot. He's got very little, patchy splotches of beard hair growing on his face, but his eyes betray his middle age. They're piercing and focused, almost seeming like a hawk.

Then I remember where it is exactly that I was.

Grunting and struggling some more with the handcuffs as he rolls the side table away, I fiercely glower at the man as he towers over me.

"You're lucky as shit that I'm the one who found you, and not anyone else," the guy tells me. "Trust me, compared to what you assholes did to our home, you're living in a fucking palace right now. It was either put you in this room, or put you somewhere… unpleasant."

My eyes show him nothing but distrust and hostility as I remain silent, causing him to lean against the wall patiently. When he doesn't say anything either, I lift my free arm to check if I have any brain damage or not – you can never be too sure, you know?

I see the guy widen his eyes in shock for a moment, but the look on his face disappears almost as soon as it came. Narrowing my eyes, my distrust increases tenfold.

"What happened?" I question, wondering why the hell I'm even here in the first place. "We came and ransacked your camp, left your people to die and ruined any possibility of coming back from this. So why save me?"

The man's eyes lower to his weapon for a moment, causing me to think that he's just gonna straight up shoot me. When he doesn't, however, and he simply shrugs his shoulders, I feel a slight sense of momentary relief. "I got talked out of it."

"By who?"

"…your little friend, it would seem," he remarks with a sigh, causing me to widen my eyes in disbelief. Clementine?! But… didn't she try to shoot me earlier? "If it hadn't been for her insisting that I keep you alive, then we wouldn't be talking right now. I had half a mind to toss the both of you off the roof of the space center."

Both? Then that means…

Silently asking if she's alright, the guy nods as if he knows what's on my mind. Instant relief washes over me as I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding onto. If Jane's still alive then… maybe things aren't quite as shitty as I had thought.

"Then I'm sorry…" I try apologizing, having not been directly involved in the decision to fight all of these innocent people like this. "This isn't how it was supposed to go, but our group was grasping at straws and tearing itself apart. Most of us didn't want this to happen…"

"Your apology means absolutely nothing to me."

"Well," I shrug as I calm myself down, "it's all I've got. I know that it won't replace the people you've lost, but I'm willing to try. Hopefully you can see that someday."

Not saying anything else, the man simply shakes his head and walks over towards me; pulling out a key from his pocket and unlocking the handcuffs as I rub my wrist tenderly.

"Surprised that I didn't try to kill you just now?" I ask, chuckling quietly as he refers back to the gun in his hands. With that, he turns away and walks out the door; leaving me to my thoughts as I tiredly run my fingers through my hair.

I've got some catching up to do.

…

_**Jane's POV**_

…god… damn it all…

Why? That's all I want to ask – just… why? Why did it have to be this way? Why did everything have to be so fucked in a matter of fucking hours? Everything we had… gone, in an instant. I shouldn't care about Derek at all, and in some aspects I'm actually glad that he's gone, but… even after breaking our original group apart, he still treated us pretty fairly. I never really _liked _him per say, but I can't say that I hated the guy either.

He wasn't the reason that I tore Lorna to shreds… literally and figuratively.

Okay, maybe I overreacted just a smidge. But when I saw Lilly knocked out in that corner… I couldn't help it. I went full Rambo on her ass without any remorse until after the deed was done.

And by then, it was far, far too late for regrets… This can't be who I am now. I won't allow it to happen again! That was a slip-up, a fuck-up! I don't get overwhelmed by anger like that, really, I don't! I sort things out and try to get around violence when faced with tough situations – you know, usually by lying, stealing or persuading others to look the other way. It's not cowardly if your life is on the line, believe me.

But I have to believe that it won't happen again.

"Knock-knock," I hear behind me, as rub my eyes in pure relief as Lilly steps out into the early morning air with me. I'm out on a balcony that overlooks much of the city, and to hear my girl's voice again has just made the sun a little brighter as it starts to come up over the horizon.

"You scared the shit out of me!" I admit, hugging her with one arm as my other is in a sling from… recent events. "God, Lilly… you have no idea…"

"Shh… it's uh, it's alright, Jane," she attempts to comfort me, just making me laugh at how pathetic the both of us are at this kind of stuff. Some things will never change. She tries to break apart, but I reel her back in as I firmly place my lips on top of hers; divulging into the kiss as best I can.

After a few more seconds of lovemaking, I lean my forehead against hers; feeling her hot breath upon my cheeks.

"You're amazing…" she whispers, and I can tell that she truly means it as she intertwines her fingers with mine.

"Just don't leave me, Lilly. Promise me… I already lost you before, and I don't want to lose you again…"

When she pauses and doesn't speak for a moment, I break the contact as I step back a little bit. Again, _why?! _Why can't she say anything?! God damn it, just tell me that everything's gonna end up working out; that nothing else is gonna keep us apart and that I won't have to worry about her getting killed!

But as I look at her sympathetic smile, I realize that there are never any guarantees out here – she knows this as well as I do. What happened last night could just be a small taste of what could really happen. We might not even wake up tomorrow. For all we know, we might get mauled down by walkers that decide to storm inside the building, or hell, the remaining people here might change their minds and just decide to kill us where we stand. Who knows anymore?

That's exactly why we need to treat and live each and every day like it's our very last.

The door creaks open, and out steps the one other person that we never expected to see again. Shutting the door quietly behind her, Clementine turns back around to the two of us; her hat covering most of her eyes as she tries to hide the nice big gash she sustained from Lorna. As far as I can tell, and as long as she doesn't pick at it for a while, then the wound probably won't scar.

Neither of us really know what to say as she slowly approaches; putting her hands in her pockets as she stops a few feet away from us. You wouldn't believe how awkward it feels right now, even though by every account it shouldn't. I'm more than relieved to find that she's alright… but what happened… that doesn't just go away.

Deciding to break the ice, as Lilly certainly doesn't seem like she wants to, I clear my throat and manage to pull off a small smile.

"Umm… hey there, Clementine," I say, feeling that I shouldn't use the short form of _Clem _right at this moment. "I, uh… wow, where do I even start, heheh…"

The twelve year old raises her face slightly as I finish; her face remaining neutral as she stares the both of us down. Ugh… this would be so much easier if I knew what she was thinking! I've had an easier time trying to talk to a walker than this! I mean, at least when you yell at one of the dead guys, they turn their attention towards you and snarl in response!

"…Bo agreed to let you two stay for a bit. Your friend, too," she explains, referring to Tommy whom I almost completely forgot about. "I told them you weren't really a part of those guys, and that you just got taken away by them and were forced to attack us. That's true, right?"

"…yeah, kiddo, it is," I nod, noticing that her tone of voice has changed since we last saw her. Maybe it's my imagination, but she's done a hell of a lot of growing up in the past month or so, and I'm not afraid to admit that it saddens me. To think that whatever shred of childhood she may have had back at Houston Hills was just taken away so quickly… it's not right.

Seeming to accept my answer, Clementine nods solemnly before gazing at my wounded arm. I'm about to tell her not to worry about it, and that it was all just a big misunderstanding, but she beats me to the punch.

However, it's definitely not the thing that I was expecting to hear.

"What happened to you?" she asks, being completely serious as she looks back into my eyes. I briefly glance over at Lilly for a second, who still hasn't spoken yet, before coming to the conclusion that she doesn't remember. That blow to the head must've fogged up her memory quite a bit, but in this case I'm actually kind of glad. I don't want her to have the guilt of knowing that _she _was the one who shot me in fact, or if she remembers and pulls out a gun to finish the both of us off.

I want things to be normal again _so badly_, that I'm willing to come up with any story I can just to put all of this behind us.

Sighing deeply, I bend down to her height and shrug my shoulders nonchalantly. I hate lying to her, but in this case it's for her own good. "Just got nipped when we were storming the gates. I'll be fine, Clementine. It's nothing to worry about."

"…that's good, at least," she hesitates, looking upon it some more before glancing at the both of us again.

It's about five seconds later that the tears start to spring up in her eyes.

Lilly looks shocked as she tries in a vain attempt to calm her down. "Clementine? Are you – "

"_I'm so sorry!" _she wails, sprinting ahead and practically bowling us over as she tries to hug the both of us at the same time. "I-I didn't mean any of it! I didn't want you to go, and I got scared… I'm so, so sorry…"

"Easy, Clem… You have _nothing _to apologize for," Lilly consoles, something I didn't think she was capable of doing. "If anything… it should be us. We were stupid, and we should've just listened to you."

_It was more my fault than anyone else's, _I think to myself sadly, but I don't want this to just turn into a sob story. Trying to place the guilt on me alone is just gonna make things worse, and I don't think that Lilly would even accept it if I tried. The kid's under enough stress and trauma as it is – no sense in adding any more to the list.

And trust me, that list is _fucking long_.

Once we've all settled down a little bit and break apart, I notice Clem's tearful eyes glance upon Lilly and I's hands – joined together tightly.

I let out a small fit of giggles as she widens her eyes and her jaw drops to the floor.

"You two are…?" she asks, practically jumping with glee as I nod. Honest to god, she looks like a five year old in a candy store right now – completely ecstatic and nearly as happy as Lilly and I are. "I knew it! I CALLED IT! BACK AT HOUSTON HILLS, I WAS JOKING BUT HELL YES I KNEW IT! I CALLED THAT SHIT! AWWWWWWW YEAH!"

I don't know which is more surprising: how over the moon she seems that Lilly and I are together, or the fact that she just said _shit _without getting angry at something. Either way it's pretty freaking hilarious, and I'm more than a little relieved to see that Clem's starting to act like her old self again.

Or at least, I _think _she is, anyways.

Getting that famous, mischievous glint in her eyes again, Clementine grabs onto Lilly's hand as she leads us back inside; probably wanting to show us around or try and help out somewhat around here. It feels a little odd and ill-placed just strolling around here after what just happened, but as long as Clem's relatively happy, then I'm happy.

"So… does this mean that I'm gonna be an aunt soon? Are you guys gonna have kids?"

If I had been drinking something, I swear that it would've shot right through my nose.

"Oh my god…" I laugh, having to stop a moment as Lilly goes bright red in the face. "_What?! _Why the hell do you think…?"

"Well… you know," she remarks with a smirk, leading us down a set of stairs as she says it like it's completely obvious. When neither of us clue in, she huffs and rolls her eyes as she opens the door to the second floor. "Don't you guys do… kissing stuff?"

"Uhh…" Lilly trails off, obviously not feeling too comfortable talking about this kind of thing. I just think this is the funniest conversation I've had in a long while. "It, umm… doesn't exactly work that way, Clem. You need… oh god, I am _so _not talking about this right now…"

"Now, come on, Lilly! Go ahead!" I tease, earning a small, joking glare from the older woman. "Better she learn now, right? See Clem, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they… Mmph!"

Clementine cocks her head to the side in confusion, probably wondering why Lilly just covered my mouth to prevent me from continuing. She can't help but laugh as we continue onwards though, and I'm glad that things are starting to patch up already.

I've still got my own demons to battle, there's no doubt about that, and I'm sure the others do as well. Plus, there's no way that things are going to be silky-smooth after all of this killing that went on, but we'll make it better. Somehow, we'll find a way.

Gee, look at me! Since when did I turn into Little Miss Sunshine over here?

Leading us down the dreaded corridor, we try to ignore the bodies that ended up getting piled up in the stairwell after the fighting had stopped. Just looking at that rotting pile of corpses makes my skin crawl, but Clementine stops a ways before we have to reach that level.

"Jane and Lilly…" she mumbles, shaking her head as she tries to wrap her head around the idea.

"Are you _still _going on about that?"

"It's just weird to think about – in a good way, I promise!" she reassures, making me chuckle as she thinks that I'm offended. "Jaaaaaaannnnnnneeeeee and Lilllllllllllllllyyyyyyyy… Jally? No, that's stupid… Lillane? Nope."

"What are you doing?" Lilly asks, the two of us watching as she leads us over to one of the doors in the hallway.

"Thinking of a name for you two so it's easier to remember!" she smirks, twisting the doorknob as she slightly opens it up. "Jilly… I like it! Now come on, there's a couple of people I want you to meet."

_AN: There you have it, folks! I know not a whole ton happened, but this story's winding down and I needed to have that little reunion thing in there – after all, they ARE the three main characters! _

_I just wanted to take this time to thank all of the reviewers, followers and favs for this story. You guys have been absolutely phenomenal, and it was a pleasure writing this for you all. I may come back and do the third part, but I'll have to give it some time first to plan it out and such. But anyways, I'd like to thank the following reviewers for all of you awesome feedback:_

_Rebloxic, ClemmyClue19, EmilyRose727, VictoriaSW, Bubbles2k100, ashes2ashes, Galen Devereaux, the Guest who kept reviewing (I don't know your name, sorry), Petulant Octopus, Lord Skarlet, spiderclone51, Salient Spring, Aqua Destiny's Embrace, kesarkuch, Oreo Anarchy (thank you so much for the cover art, you've got no idea how frickin amazing that was :D), Sven the Crusader, clementinewolf18, Kiwipunch99, and all of the other guests! Thanks for all the support for this, guys :D _

_Don't worry, there's still one more chapter to go, and it's probably gonna be pretty long. I just wanted to do this now so that I don't waste too much time with ANs in the next chapter. Anyways, adios, amigos!_

_Leafs Nation_


	26. Be not so fearful

_AN: Oh boy, last chapter for this story! I'll keep it short and sweet, so here come the review replies:_

_EmilyRose727: I'm glad you liked that part lol I was smiling the whole time I wrote it XD_

_MoonbornWalker: Good, I thought it'd be pretty interesting to delve into Lilly's head with all that she's gone through, so thanks! _

_Rebloxic: I thought you'd like it :D _

_Clemmyclue19: There is NO such thing as too much Jilly lol! This chapter's gonna be a lot of tying up loose ends, but there may be some revelations and things that you might not expect – well, hopefully anyways. Thanks again for all the reviews!_

_VictoriaSW: I think you've had a feels overdose! You should probably get that checked out or something lol XD_

_Last thing, the __**sentences that are bolded and italicized like this **__will be lyrics from the song "Be Not So Fearful". It played near the end of season 4 in the TV show, and I think it works well here._

_**Clem's POV**_

"Umm… hi," Jane awkwardly waves as Ellie and Riley see the three of us walk into their room. I figured that they'd react like this; frightened and wondering why I'd be willing to introduce them after they had invaded our home. I'm still kind of wondering that myself, actually. "Soooo… my name's Jane, and this is Lilly. Who are you guys?"

When they look worriedly over at me, I nod with a small, reassuring smile. "It's alright," I encourage, sitting on the bed beside the two of them. "They won't bite… well, Lilly might, but I'm pretty sure Jane's clean."

"You suck," Lilly rolls her eyes, sticking her tongue out at me playfully as she bends down in front of us.

Seeing that neither of the kids are gonna say anything first, I decide to make introductions myself. "Jane, Lilly, meet Ellie and Riley. We've been together for just a little while."

Lilly holds out a hand, but the kids just stare at her as if she's some kind of alien from outer space. I can't say I blame them – I'd probably be scared of strangers after what just happened too.

It'll take some getting used to, but if they can get along with me so soon after meeting me, I've got little doubt that it'll be the same way with Jane and Lilly.

Or, you know, I could be completely wrong about that.

"They're with me, guys. Trust me, they're okay," I attempt, smirking as Riley nervously shakes Lilly's hand; probably expecting to get taken away or something. Ellie hides behind my right shoulder in hesitation as usual, and it takes a little coaxing from me for the girl to slowly pop her head out.

Jane, seeing this, decides to go with a different approach as she puts her hand in her pocket.

"You know, if it weren't for the two of you," she remarks, motioning to Ellie and Riley separately, "I probably wouldn't even be here. You guys saved my ass last night, you know that?"

Giggling at the word "_ass"_, Ellie sits on the edge of the bed as I roll my eyes. Why she has such a fascination with swearing I will never know, but at least she's not acting quite as shy as she was before. We're making progress here, people!

However, continuing to look at Jane and Lilly – especially their injuries – makes me feel more guilty in the pit of my stomach. It twists and turns; wrenching around inside of me as I keep thinking about last night's events over and over again.

In case you were wondering… well, here's the truth.

I lied to them – Jane and Lilly, just a little while ago. Right to their faces, and I could tell that they were just trying to make me feel better when I asked how she got shot.

I'm fully aware that it was me, and I didn't admit to it.

Maybe I'm a coward; a lowly asshole who wouldn't openly fess up to her mistakes and lied about it to avoid the punishment. In some sense that's true, but… it's complicated, too. I genuinely panicked there when I saw Lilly and Jane for the first time in… what's it been, months now? Everything in my head was telling me they were fake, and that I had to lash out and eliminate them so that I wouldn't have to be tormented by them any longer.

I can't admit to them about my issues… what'll that say about me? Will they put me down like so many others; calling me crazy and unfit to live in this world anymore? Would they even believe me if I told them about it? Would they just say that I was making up excuses for trying to kill both of them?

In my opinion, I'm almost assured that every answer will be _yes_. Yes, she's lost her mind and she isn't safe enough to be around. Ellie, Riley and Bo already think I'm nuts, I've seen it on their faces. I thought for sure that this would just go away like it did before – I'm back with the people I really care about, and everything's settled down for the most part.

There haven't been any episodes yet this morning, so I'm sure that this'll just go away or something. It has to… doesn't it?

"Clem?" Jane asks, pulling me out of my own head as I look up to meet her concerned gaze.

"Huh? What's up?"

"I asked if you needed any help around here," she repeats, looking genuinely ashamed about the attack. Lilly does as well. "Or would that be… too soon?"

"Umm…" I say dumbly, trying to think of what it is I was supposed to be doing today. I'd imagine that Bo would want us to have some sort of funeral for those we lost – the space center seems so much emptier than it usually is, even though there's still a handful of people who survived besides us. "…we should probably go and see Bo about getting stuff running again. James… he's probably gonna need some space. He probably wants to bury Debbie someplace…"

I don't make direct eye contact, but I notice Lilly shuffle a little bit uncomfortably at the mention of Debbie. I'm assuming she figured out who that was, but in order to keep up appearances I need to act like I don't know that Lilly killed her. This could be some very delicate and dangerous information, and if it somehow gets to James… yikes. That's one situation I don't want to have - ever. No, this can't get out.

"You two ready?" I ask my two charges, who both nod as each of them grasp onto my hands. When Jane looks at me questioningly, I give her a shrug before exiting the room. "We're a team now, just like you and I were before."

"I can see that," she comments, looking slightly proud as we wander down the hallway. That's odd – usually Jane would be against me getting too attached to people, especially with kids as young as Ellie and Riley. But now it's like there's an understanding between us – I'm capable enough to make my own decisions, and I can live with the consequences.

I can only hope that I live up to these expectations.

_**Be not so nervous, be not so frail…**_

…

"Fuck no!" James practically roars, instantly shaking the idea off as he angrily shakes his head. Bo doesn't seem too happy about it either. "Have you lost your fucking mind, Clementine?! We can't let them stay here! They're lucky that we actually let them _live_, let alone rest up for a night! They need to get out of here right NOW!"

Lilly looks as though she's about to explode and say something she may regret, but I put a hand up and shake my head in her direction. It's really not worth it for her to try – saying anything is only gonna piss him off even more. It'd be better coming from someone who was on the same side as he was at one point.

We're all sitting in the board room just outside the laboratory – James, Bo, Lilly, Jane, Tommy, Ellie, Riley and I. Turns out there were only a handful of people left over from last night other than us, and they decided to pack up and leave after everything had died down. I hope they know what they're doing out there… taking your chances out on the road isn't exactly a safe bet these days.

"They didn't _want _to attack us! Lilly and Jane are my friends – they'd never have tried to hurt us if they knew I was here! I don't think Tommy would either!" I reason, watching as Bo glances at them with doubt. "We're short people enough as it is! Why would you kick them out when they can help around here? They can shoot better than any of us, and they'd know how to protect this place! There's _nobody _I trust more than them!"

"So are we supposed to just forget about all of those people these monsters killed?! Should we just stomp our feet all over the families that got torn apart?! Is that what you're suggesting?!" James rages, though seemingly more calm than he was originally. At least he isn't giving me death glares this time around.

Although, I still don't think the yelling is much of an improvement.

"What about that thing you told me?" I ask Bo, looking at him with a pleading glance as I point to the symbol on his gun. "You said that we needed a group to help make things better. Why can't we start that now, Bo? This could be a chance to start over and get things back to the way they used to be!"

Slowly, James looks pointedly over his friend in exasperation. "You didn't…"

Sighing heavily, Bo's steadily look down to the table gives James all the confirmation he needs. Groaning, James stands up and smacks his hand along the table.

"It's not just something we can ignore…" I remark, realizing that this group thing could be the only possible reason that Jane and Lilly could stay. I must sound like a massive hypocrite right now, but frankly I don't really care. "We've all done bad stuff before, but everyone deserves a second chance. Please, Bo… don't turn them away…"

Ellie and Riley try to help out by giving the man a puppy dog look, but I don't think it'd go over well if I tried to do this as well. What kind of leader begs for things? Bo folds his hands together as he leans over the table; deep in thought as James paces the floor behind him. What if he says no? Who will I pick: the women who helped keep me alive for so long and whom I've spent so much time with in the past, or the kids and friends here that I have a responsibility for? I don't want to have to make that choice, not yet!

However, it seems that I won't have to decide that today, as Bo sighs before running his hands through his hair.

I'm taking that as a yes.

"…fine."

"You can't do that – don't pull this over me, Bo!" James warns, a threatening tone in his voice as he glares behind his glasses. "These people invaded our home and killed our loved ones! The answer's not to _invite them in_ – we should kick them to the curb and lock the door behind them!"

"This is an opportunity here, James. You need to see that," Bo explains as he pushes his chair back away from the table. "We've needed this for two damn years – there's not gonna be another chance! You can further along your research, and we can finally stop pretending like things are normal out there! We need a safe community, and obviously what we had wasn't gonna cut it!"

Inside, I'm fuming that they'd have the audacity to even _suggest _continuing the research knowing what it entails, but I keep my mouth firmly shut. One victory is better than none at all.

Jane, Lilly and Tommy look incredibly confused.

"What are y'all talking about? Opportunity for what?" Tommy asks as Bo pulls out a large box of some kind and places it carefully on the table.

Reaching inside, Bo pulls out a handful of small, metal pendants with that same odd symbol that I had seen earlier. Placing the medallion around my neck, I do the same for the kids as they look at the things as if they're some kind of treasure. Jane looks bored with hers, and Lilly looks as though she's about to toss hers into the garbage. Great start already, isn't it?

"What the fuck are these for?" Lilly asks, nobody really shushing her even though there Ellie and Riley are still in the room. They've probably heard enough swear words already to fill a small dictionary.

"Grabbed them at a military camp nearby, and I figured they'd be like a collector's item or something," Bo shrugs before looking over at me. "Clem already knows about this… but we've been trying to form a small coalition of sorts. It's called the Fireflies, and our goal would be to try and set society back to normal. We've been working on a cure to the infection that grows in the brain, but we haven't had the resources or firepower necessary to pull it off."

"So… what do you say guys?" I ask hopefully, watching as Jane and Lilly gently place their medals on the table. "Will you help us out? Do you want to join the group?"

Frowning slightly, Lilly huffs out a sigh as Jane leans back in the chair quietly. Finally, after about ten seconds or so of not saying anything, Lilly shakes her head in disgust.

"What the hell are you people thinking?" she asks quietly before looking over at me. "You know better than this, Clem! We're survivors, not miracle workers! Trying to save the world is pointless! It can't be done! We're not responsible for every single person we come across!"

"Why am I not surprised by that answer?" James remarks off-handedly, causing Lilly to glare fiercely at him.

"Listen up here, jackass! I don't know what kind of bullshit you've been feeding her, but it stops here! You people are idealists – you've got your fucking heads up in the clouds!"

Thus sparks a heated debate once again between Lilly, Jane, Bo and James as they start to hash it out on who's right or wrong. Tommy seems to be pondering the idea over, nodding practically every time that Bo speaks. Ellie and Riley are just watching the exchange silently, and it'd almost be funny seeing their eyes dart back and forth if it weren't for the subject matter.

I should've figured this would happen. In a way, I had kind of been abandoning the stuff that Jane and Lilly had taught me before – not to trust anyone, not to stay in big groups of strangers, always keep your guard up, and always, ALWAYS know your limits.

But maybe it's just me growing up, but it sounds a whole lot like these people are trying to control what I do! Jane drilled that lesson about living my own life into my head, too!

Well, now it's about to be put into use.

"STOP IT! EVERYONE SHUT UP!" I shout, causing everyone to glance over my way as I raise my voice. "Look, whether we like it or not, this is gonna happen! I don't want to have to deal with walkers anymore, and if there's a chance that we can make a difference out here… then why wouldn't we try, right? There's nothing wrong with that!"

"Clem, you can't be – "

"No, Lilly… not this time," I shake my head, silencing her as I hold out my medallion. "They've been working on something that might be able to save us… Even though it's still kind of bad, and I might not have agreed with them at the start. We need this to work, or else… we're all fucked!"

After my little tirade, Bo nods his head in approval as he looks over to where James was sitting, but at some point he must've left the room when we didn't notice. Running a hand over his tired face, the grizzled man leans back in the chair expectantly. "So… is that it then? Are we finally doing this?"

"…I'm in," Tommy decides firmly, getting an eye roll from Lilly. "If it's like y'all say, that we can really bring things back to normal and build a community again, then I'd be crazy not to try. Sure, I'll be a Firefly."

As I look over to the girls with a smirk, I chuckle as they excitedly nod their heads in approval. If it means that they get to wear these cool-looking pendant things, then they'll climb aboard for sure.

"I wanna be a Firefly!" Riley giggles, flying her hand through the air as she makes a _whooshing _sound. "They're pretty, and their butts glow in the dark! I wanna glow in the dark, too! Haha!"

And of course, anything that Riley wants to do, so does…

"Me too, me too!" Ellie claps her hands together; swinging her legs back and forth underneath the table. "We'll be like superheroes saving the world! Zoom! Riley, you can be my sidekick!"

"No way! _You're _the sidekick!"

"Nuh-uh! I thought of it first!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

Honestly, I wasn't worried about Ellie and Riley signing on. They won't understand what's going on in detail, but then again, I still don't think they know what those things are that prowl outside – and they almost got eaten by them, too! Being able to sleep at night while not having to worry about walkers would be possibly the greatest cure that's ever been created.

Now, here come the hard nuts to crack – Jane and Lilly.

Lilly's still stubbornly sitting back in her chair; seemingly set in her ways, but Jane unfortunately makes eye contact with me as she groans quietly.

"Please?" I ask, putting a sad smile on in the hopes that I can swing her opinion. "I don't want you to have to leave again… not after you just got here! We're supposed to do things together, remember?"

Jane studies my face for a good long while, probably trying to judge on how committed I am to this. I didn't get brainwashed here – it was my decision, and mine alone. After all, I was the one who brought up the Fireflies just now anyways, so that's gotta count for something!

After a little bit longer, Jane bites her lip before turning to Lilly and shrugging her shoulders.

"Are you serious?" Lilly complains before looking over at me and burying her face in her palms. With an aggravated groan, the stubborn woman reluctantly nods as I excitedly laugh and run over behind the two of them; hugging their necks tightly as Jane smiles slightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I exclaim, squeezing hard as I ruffle Lilly's hair up a little bit. "Jilly, you're the best! I knew you'd come around!"

"Are we just one person now? Is that what's going on?" Jane asks, getting a satisfied nod from me as she rolls her eyes. "Okay, well… I really hope you're right about this, Clem. I've still got some doubts about this whole thing but… I'll give it a shot. For now, at least."

"That's all I ask," I nod, letting go before returning to my seat. Don't get me wrong: despite appearances in the room, the mood is still extremely dark from all the chaos and destruction that came from last night. However, this is the first time in a while that I actually feel… kind of relieved, actually. I've spent quite a few nights here just hating the guts out of certain people for the experiments that they performed, and I kept going back and forth between staying or leaving.

Honestly, if it weren't for Ellie and Riley being in the picture now, too, I probably would've packed my bags and taken off.

"There's just one other thing we need to take care of," Bo interrupts, not bothering to hide his distaste of the newcomers. "This group won't work without a leader – we need somebody to be in charge of certain things. Somebody who's got their head on straight, and will make decisions that are best for the group. So… Clementine, are you up for it?"

The rest of the adults (as well as the kids) widen their eyes at the mere suggestion, and suddenly I'm feeling quite less confident than I was just a minute ago.

"I… I don't know…" I admit, feeling slightly self-conscious as I stare at the table. "Maybe I'm not really… ready for it."

"I don't know anyone more qualified than you, Clem," Bo says, not a lick of doubt in his voice as he folds his arms together. "I have full confidence in you."

"_He's right, sweet pea."_

No… no, this can't be happening! Not again! Why is this happening to me?! Jane and Lilly are back! I shouldn't be seeing or hearing Lee; sitting in James' unoccupied chair next to Bo with a big smile on his face.

"_You're ready, Clementine. I know you can do this. Your friends do, too."_

"_We're all with you, darlin'," _Kenny chimes in, though I can't see him physically.

"_There ain't nobody more suited for it than you, kiddo," _Luke agrees.

"_Go for it, Clementine!" _Duck.

"_We believe in you!" _Sarah.

Then comes Nick, Carley, Katjaa, Larry, Mark, Pete, Rebecca, Alvin, Molly, Omid, Christa, Chuck, Ben, Carlos, Bonnie, Mike… hell, even Carver says that I should agree, but he's more inclined to tell me that I should rule with an iron fist more than anything else.

Completely out of it, I manage to pull myself together before nodding in confirmation.

"Okay," I tell him, feeling more nervous than ever, "I'll do it. I'll lead the Fireflies."

_**Someone watches you, you will not fail…**_

…

_**James' POV**_

Sticking the shovel upright in the dirt, I wipe my forehead off before pulling out a lighter and a cigarette. After having supposedly "quit" smoking for three years straight, I lift the stick to my mouth, light it up and inhale that sweet, sweet nicotine.

Funny how these things work, isn't it? One little drug to make all of your problems seem less… problematic. Heather would've probably smacked me across the back of the head, snatched the cigarette out of my hand and stomped on it before giving me a lecture on the dangers of lung cancer.

And you know what? I'd quit all over again, just for her.

But she's not here, neither is Debbie. They're both buried together in the garden now instead of standing with me right now. Both were taken away from me, and both times they broke my heart by doing so. Huh… by the way I'm saying this, it almost seems like I'm _blaming _them for not being here; as if it was their own fault for getting killed.

How fucking selfish am I?

"She was proud of you, you know," Bo tells me, walking into the green room as he stands beside me. "I could see it when you guys looked at each other. She'd want you to be happy."

Looking down at the little monument or whatever you want to call it, I don't feel satisfied. It's hard to describe, but it's almost as if there's something missing.

"…I haven't done enough. I could've done more…"

"There was _nothing _you could do, James. It was out of your control," Bo tries to reassure, but I don't believe him. How would Bo know anything about this anyways?! It's not as if any of us were close! Bo was a resource; an asset! It was simply a mutual beneficial relationship, devoid of any closeness between us!

There I go, mumbling nonsense with big words… I tend to do that when I get frazzled. Still doesn't change how I feel, though.

"As if you'd really know what she wanted," I spit, interrupting him before he gets a chance to rebuttal. "Don't even try to justify yourself! I know that you've been using us from the start; hiding out here so that you wouldn't have to go back out there alone!"

"Now you're just throwing accusations around! Don't act like I didn't care about Debbie because I _did!_"

"Would you grow the fuck up already and drop the act? It's been getting old ever since you arrived here!" I say in annoyance, which causes him to straighten up a bit as he takes a step backwards.

He knows he's been caught.

"Honestly, Bo, how stupid do you think we were?" I question, puffing out a wave of smoke into his face as he coughs and swats the fumes away. "When you somehow _miraculously _show up to the space center with nobody else, immediately after the old watchman dies, did you think I wouldn't suspect something? You were willing to sacrifice your friends just so that you could have a warm bed! I could tell you were a bandit right from the very beginning…"

The two of us stand at a crossroads; with neither side giving in as we try and see which side will buckle and break first. I know that I should be grateful for what he's done since then, and that he's only trying to help… but if he really wanted to aid me, he'd just shut up and leave me alone for a little while. That's all that I ask – a little peace and quiet so that I could say goodbye to my loved ones.

But no, instead he has to let those murderous thugs into our home and basically slap Debbie's memory clean in the face. If she were still here, then I'm damn sure that she would never let this happen. She'd be way more forceful than me… but again, she's not here, and I'm left on my own to face the world.

"You can't give in now, James," Bo finally breaks the silence, looking back to the plaque that I had created for Heather so long ago. "Remember what they were striving for? To make this world a better place? Well this is our time now – we've created the Fireflies, and we need to start acting instead of just sitting in the dark. That means setting up colonies, convincing people to join our side and get the ball rolling. Without you, this will all have been for nothing."

"So you've put the weight of the world onto a twelve year old girl's shoulders, I'm assuming?" I remark, actually feeling slightly bad for the kid a little bit. "Despite what happened and what I may have said… I don't hate Clementine. She's a good kid, and she doesn't need to put up with everyone else's shit! Besides, why would you put her in charge anyways? She knows what we were up to!"

"…I'm starting to convince her."

Widening my eyes, I shake my head in complete wonder. Why do I find that incredibly difficult to believe? Somebody's opinions, morals and values can't be completely shaken and flipped upside down that quickly. It takes time – in some cases years – for people's perspectives to be changed. It's not a process that happens overnight.

"That was your plan all along," I point out, calling him out on his little scheme. "You've been buttering Clementine up on purpose, haven't you? You've been feeding her all of this bullshit about _saving the world _and whatnot; forcing her to be a scapegoat and take responsibility because _you _didn't want to!"

Silencing me with a hand in the air, Bo rubs his temples before conceding and nodding in slight shame. "Yes, it's all true… everything you've said…" he admits, letting out a heavy sigh as he moves some dirt out of the way of the plaque. "But that doesn't change anything. I wasn't completely sure at the start, but that little girl is different, I can tell. Fine, I may have fucking planted some false shit into her head, but it doesn't matter! I don't want to live this way anymore, James! I hate seeing all of my friends and family fucking die left, right and center! I'm tired of having to live like a god damn hermit because I can't walk outside without risking my life! I'm sick of it, and you should be too!"

Giving the man a chance to breathe, I wait a few more seconds before asking what he's _really _here for.

"What else is there, Bo? What aren't you telling me?"

Glancing my way as I pull out the box of cigarettes again, Bo places his hands on his hips and sighs.

"…you have to keep going with your research," he explains, which surprises me after his original outbursts against it. "Studies, experiments on people, all of it. This won't work if we don't have your expertise on board. Regardless of the costs, we need to push this forward. Nobody else needs to know."

Chuckling as I re-open the box, I hand Bo a cigarette and light the stick up for both of ours. It seems as though I'm not the only one who might need a pick me up every now and again.

"Figured you'd come around," I comment, feeling him pat me on the shoulder in a friendly way. "To Debbie, then – may she rest in peace… We'll see you on the other side… one day…"

_**Be not so sorry for what you've done… You must forget them now, it's done…**_

_**Lilly's POV**_

This is so fucking dumb… why the hell am I so nervous right now?! I've been pacing back and forth in the same damn hallway for a good ten minutes straight, and my insides feel like they're getting twisted inside-out. I've been sweating buckets for a while, and the only part of me that isn't shaking is my – nope, now my head's shaking too. Shit… I don't think that I've ever been this anxious in my entire life.

Alright, everything has to be completely perfect – no screw-ups, no bullshit, no nothing. This should be easy, shouldn't it? I mean, typically it's a guy thing, but that's sexist. Why can't a woman do the same if they want to? It's not as if there are any rules against it!

Well, not anymore, at least. Heh… this is probably the only good thing that came out of the fucking apocalypse – same sex couples are allowed everywhere now.

I find myself biting my nails out of a force of habit until she walks out of the door; having just finished talking with Clementine in the board room. After that whole Firefly business was settled, I had excused myself earlier and told Jane to meet me out here for some more… _personal _business. At first she seemed concerned that I wanted to end our relationship, but I just smacked her on the shoulder and told her that that's not what I had in mind.

It's actually the furthest thing from ending our relationship.

_**Be not so nervous, be not so pale…**_

"Yo, Lillian! What's shaking, baby?" she hollers, giving me pistol fingers as she jogs to a halt beside me. "What's the hubbub, bub? Can we speed this up? I've got a golf game at four, you know!"

"Ha, I'm sure you do," I chuckle, finding myself a little less stressed out thanks to her. We might not get along all the time, but Jane has definitely become my rock in times of crisis. "But, uh… I kind of wanted to… you know, ask you something."

Cocking her head in confusion, Jane shrugs her shoulders; not getting what the hesitation is for. "Okayyyy… well, what's going on then?"

"…I love you, you know that right?" I ask, wanting to be absolutely certain of that fact before what happens next.

In response, Jane only grows more concerned as I put my hands in my pockets.

"Alright Lilly, enough. You're officially freaking me out. What the hell is going on?!"

Grasping the item firmly in my hand, I pull it out as I look at the object blankly; not showing much emotion as I start to explain myself. Now or never, I guess.

_**Someone watches you, you will not leave the rails…**_

"This was my mother's originally. I took it off of my Dad after he died… kept it ever since," I tell her, twirling the thing around in my hand. The item shimmers as the light from a nearby window sparkles off of its surface, and somehow it makes this moment all the more special. "It's kind of silly, don't you think? I mean, what good is a ring if it's just sitting in my pocket all day?"

"You're bullshitting me… you're not serious!" Jane gasps, widening her eyes as she stares at me in shock.

Nodding my head with a small smile, I stop twirling the ring around and set it firmly in the palm of my hand. "No more pretending – straight to the point, as we always are," I sigh, trying to figure out what to do next.

How the hell is this supposed to go again? Right knee to the floor, left one bent forward… got it. Now I just hold my arm out like this, and…

"This is probably corny as shit, but… umm…" I stutter, finding it slightly hard to breathe all of a sudden. Did somebody crank up the heat in here? "Jane… we might not have everything that people usually get for a wedding or anything, but… I don't really care. I love you, and that's really all there is to it. So Jane… will you marry me?"

In response, Jane attacks me and tackles me roughly to the floor.

Yeah, you heard right. She smacks my shoulders again and again as she backs me up to the side of the wall, before kissing me on the lips like never before.

"…yes, you fucking idiot…" she breathes in between, smiling like a crazy person as she attacks my lips once again.

Well… that's certainly one way to propose to someone, now isn't it?

_**And when you wake up, you'll find that you can run…**_

_**Clem's POV**_

"You feelin' up for this?" Tommy asks me gently, causing me to smirk and shrug my shoulders as I run my hand along the smooth surface of the wooden desk. We're the only two left in the room, as everyone else had left about an hour ago. I'm not too worried about Jane and Lilly, since they're more than capable of taking care of themselves.

But the kids? I've still got some doubts.

"Is anyone really?" I question, not entirely sure that I'm up to the task. It's a big jump from just trying to survive out in the world. "I guess that I'll just have to wait and see. I hope things are gonna work out alright."

Nodding, Tommy scratches his shaggy beard as he seems to get lost in thought. "This right here's probably the most hope that I've had in a good long while, if what y'all said about working on a cure is true," he comments, leaning back in the chair as he sighs. "It's a shame that my brother couldn't see things the same way."

Feeling a little bit sad that the guy lost his family, I frown sympathetically as I decide to open up a little bit. Tommy seems like a pretty stand-up guy.

"I lost my family, too," I explain, going into the same story that I told Luke back at the cabin over a year ago. I miss that big lug a lot sometimes…

"Wow… that's a tough deal, for sure," Tommy empathises, folding his hands together as he studies my face. "Can't imagine losing people that way… I mean, sure I lost my niece, Sarah, and everything… but that hit my brother like a wall of bricks."

"…what's his name?" I ask quietly, hopefully not bringing up something bad to mind.

Looking over at me wistfully, Tommy breathes out through his nose before shutting his eyes closed. "Joel… his name's Joel, and I haven't seen him in a long time."

"He's still… alive?" I question, getting a nod from the man. "Well… should we go look for him? Do you know where he might be?"

As the regret sprays like paint upon his face, I immediately hold back on suggesting that maybe this _Joel _character could join us as a Firefly. I really shouldn't be trying to get in on family matters, especially with people whom I've just met.

"…my last words to him… were that I never wanted to see his face again."

"Oh…" I remark quietly, feeling a little bit smaller as I rub my arm in discomfort. "I'm… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

Shaking his head, Tommy shakes the thought off as he smiles lightly and goes to stand up; saying something about needing some air. After he exits the board room, leaving me by myself in the eerily quiet area, I decide to go check up on Ellie and Riley.

Hopefully they haven't caused too much trouble down in the basement.

_**Be not so fearful… be not so pale…**_

Descending the staircase to the basement level, I begin to think about all that the leadership title is going to entail. Will I have to make big-time decisions that will affect the whole group? What kinds of decisions will those be? Will I be able to get the job done without sacrificing everything that I've stood for?

But most importantly… am I really the right choice? I mean, even though I hate being treated like a child after all that's happened, I'm still just twelve years old! I wouldn't even be old enough to drive – oh wait, that already happened, didn't it? Okay then… I'm far too young to drink – shit, did that too.

Shoot a gun? Check.

Live on my own? Covered that, damn…

Alright, fine! I've done a whole lot of grown-up things over the past couple of years and still come out on the other side, but this _thing _going on inside my head… that can't be normal. If I truly want to be a leader that people can look up to, then I'm gonna have to face this problem on my own. No asking for help – I have to be completely independent and work this out myself.

I can't afford to look weak in front of everyone else…

_**Be not so sorry for what you've done…**_

That's odd. I would've expected to hear Ellie and Riley giggling down here, or at least seen them running around by now. What's going on, I wonder?

Hmm… maybe they're playing hide and seek or something. I used to love playing that with Duck and Ben back at the motor-inn.

"Hello?" I shout, my voice echoing off the cement walls as I look over to where our firing range was held earlier this week. Maybe if we had done this earlier, then they would've been better prepared and more capable of defending themselves before their time came.

Then again, that might've meant that Jane and Lilly would've been taken away from me too. It's a pretty crappy situation either way.

"…what do you want, Lee?" I sigh, watching as he leans against the pillar in concern. However, he doesn't say anything this time; just points behind him with a sad frown as I follow his directions.

Passing right through the man that was as close to a second father as I'd ever hope to have, I come to an abrupt stop as my heart falls to my stomach.

It's Ellie, Riley… and a dead walker. There are fresh blood stains on the ground beside them.

Rushing over to them and bending down, I start to panic as their tears stain both of their cheeks. They're absolutely terrified.

As they should be… Riley's bite is on her hand. Ellie's got a big one right on her forearm.

"Oh god…" I breathe out, trying to keep it together as a few tears of my own silently release.

"It… it was scary! And this hurts…" Riley comments, not realizing what's going to happen to the two of them. "W-we were just playing tag, but then that scary guy came out and bit us! We k-killed it with the knife thingy…"

Glancing over, I indeed see the pocket knife resting itself in the walker's brain; all bloody and crimson as I choke back a sob that gets caught in my throat.

This can't be happening… not again… I already failed AJ… God, why, damn it?! WHY?! WHY THEM?!

"Is something… bad gonna happen?" Ellie asks timidly, whimpering in pain as she accidentally touches her bite wound. "What… what's gonna happen to us?! Clementine?! I… I don't want this to happen…"

That does it. I break down as the sobs overtake my body. My pistol's in my pocket, but… I don't know if I have the strength to do it this time around. If this is the kind of shit that I'll have to do as the leader of the Fireflies, then I'm not so sure that I can handle it. I'm too weak – this is absolute torture.

The only thing that I can do… is try and make their last day a little less painful.

"…how about we spend the rest of the day down here, okay? I'll… tell you whatever stories you like," I suggest, my eyes red-rimmed and glossy as I sit against the pillar. The two girls sit on either side of me; not understanding that they're gonna die.

I want to be there with them until the end.

"Have… have I ever told you about a guy named Lee?" I ask the, leaning my head back as they shake their heads. "Well… he looked after me when I was around your age. He kept me safe, taught me how to shoot a gun and keep my hair short…"

"Just like you?" Ellie asks as Riley leans in closer to my shoulder. God damn it… I've failed them, and this time there's no going back.

"_I'll be right here," _Lee tells me, sitting across from us as he crosses his legs with a sad smile.

"Yeah… just like me," I answer with a sigh, for once not caring that I'm seeing imaginary people. This time it's actually pretty comforting. "He's right here, actually. He's always with me… no matter where I go. Just like I'll always be… with you."

I go into more detail about our adventures, but I generally leave out most of the bad stuff that happened over the course of it all. I want their last moments to be filled with happy memories; not dark, depressing stuff. I don't want them to be sad on their last days on Earth.

There's enough sadness in the world already.

_AN: Thank you so much for reading :) Hopefully you guys are as happy with how it turned out as I am, and I'll be sure to come up with new ideas when I can think of some. This isn't the end for me, and maybe I'll even decide to come back to this sometime. Not yet though, I'd need to see if it's worth it or not._

_Alright, that's it from me, my peeps! Have a spectacular day!_

_Leafs Nation_


End file.
